Carajicomedia contains two poems that parody different sections of El Laberinto de Fortuna, a work composed by Juan de Mena in 1444 that was destined to become one of the most read compositions of the fifteenth century. Although we do not know much about his education, and practically all information about him comes from Hernán Núñez's prologue to his edition of El Laberinto, we believe that a trip to Rome and Florence confirmed Mena as a life-long student of the Classics. He used this knowledge to fashion a successful career in government during which he was appointed secretary of Latin letters by Juan II of Castile (b. 1405; king, 1407–1454) and later became royal chronicler (Florence Street 1953, 153; Beltrán de Heredia, 504; Miguel A. Pérez Priego 2011, 133).

The poet showed his gratitude for his appointment as royal secretary by presenting the king with the most monumental poem of the fifteenth century, El Laberinto de Fortuna. Any study of Carajicomedia's parody must therefore begin by outlining the characteristics of its model before it explains the reasons why its author or authors chose to write a caricature of a work that was over seventy years old.

El Laberinto de Fortuna

El Laberinto de Fortuna is a vision allegory. The composition begins when Mena, a character in his own work, complains that even virtuous individuals suffer from the vicissitudes of Fortune, and he challenges the Muses to justify their unhappy destinies.