LA VIRGEN DE GUADALUPE

From Chicano Folklore A Guide to the Folktales, Traditions, Rituals and Religious Practices of Mexican Americans by Rafaela G. Castro Also commonly known as Nuestra Seora de Guadalupe, she is the Virgin Mary who appeared to Juan Diego, a Mexican Christian Indian, on December 9, 1531. Historical documents verify the story of her apparitions. She identified herself as the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, and speaking in Nahuatl, she asked Juan Diego to go to the Spanish bishop and ask that a temple be built there where she appeared, the mount of Tepeyac. To Juan Diego she was a beautiful woman who spoke his language, so after much difficulty he sought to speak to the bishop, but his story was not heard, and he was asked to return another day. The beautiful woman appeared to Juan Diego a second time, and he was asked to seek the bishops audience again. On the second try Juan Diego saw the bishop, his story was heard and questioned, but was not believed. The bishop wanted a sign from the Great Lady so that he would know it was really she who was sending Juan Diego. Diego intended to go back to Tepeyac and inform the beautiful woman, but when he returned home he found that his uncle Juan Bernardino was extremely ill. The next morning, on December 12, as he walked to Tlatelolco to call a priest to come to his uncles side, the beautiful woman came to him a third time asking what was wrong. Diego told her of his sick uncle and of the request from the bishop. She told him his uncle was now well and would not die and sent him to the top of a hill to cut fresh flowers that he was to take to the bishop as proof of her existence. Diego followed her instructions and at the top of the hill he found beautiful roses of Castile, still covered with dew. He cut them and The Lady, the Mother of God, arranged them in his tilma (cloak) and sent him to the bishop, with the proof requested. When Diego unfolded his tilma in front of the bishop, the roses fell to the floor, and there on the tilma was an image of the Virgin Mary. Now the Spanish bishop believed, and as the beautiful woman requested, a church was built right on the mount of Tepeyac. The tilma with the image of the Virgin Mary still hangs in the temple called Guadalupe. The name that the beautiful Lady gave herself was Tlecuauhtlacupeuh, but to the Spaniards it sounded like Guadalupe, which they instantly recognized as Our Lady of Guadalupe from Estremadura, Spain. But the Aztecs understood that in the Nahuatl language the name Tlecuauhtlacupeuh meant la que viene volando de la luz como el guila de fuego (she who comes flying from the region of light like an eagle of fire). Tonantzin was an Aztec goddess, literally called Our Holy Mother, also known as Tonan. Guadalupe appeared at what was once the temple of Tonantzin at the mount of Tepeyac. Even today in Mexico, La Virgen Mara is often called Tonantzin. The acceptance of La Virgen de Guadalupe by the indigenous population of Mexico was the beginning of Mexican Christianity and the conversion of the Aztecs to Catholicism. Guadalupe became the symbol of Indian Catholicism, different from the European Catholicism of the Spaniards. As the Aztecs adapted the Catholic religion to their indigenous beliefs, they created a religion that met their own needs and own way of life. She was declared the Patroness of the Mexican Nation in 1737, and in 1754 Pope Benedict XIV canonized Guadalupe as an official saint. She was crowned Queen of Mexico in 1895, showing how strong a symbol of Mexican nationalism she had become. Today she continues as the countrys strongest symbol of Mexican identity. The cathedral built in her honor can no longer be used because of structural damage, but a new one was built in the early 1970s. Masses are held every hour of the day and the church is constantly filled to capacity. Faith in La Virgen de Guadalupe is one of the strongest convictions in Mexican and Chicano culture. Guadalupe has become a powerful cultural image. Her appearance was crucial in restoring dignity and humanity to a conquered people. Eric Wolf refers to Guadalupe as a master symbol, a symbol which seems to enshrine the major hopes and aspirations of an entire society (34). She is the mother of the mestizo race, La Raza (The People), and a political symbol for the oppressed and powerless. She is affectionately referred to as La Morenita, Virgencita, Lupita, Madrecita, Madre de Dios, and Nuestra Seora. Virgil Elizondo, a Chicano theologian, states, Guadalupe is the key to understanding the Christianity of the New World and the Christian consciousness of the Mexicans and the Mexican Americans of the United States (26). Belief in her power as a mediator for the oppressed has prompted faithful followers to carry her image into battle for over 400 years. Father Hidalgo, during the Mexican War of Independence; Emiliano Zapata, during the Mexican Revolution; and Csar Chvez, during his battle for farmworkers rights against California agribusiness, all carried the emblem of La Virgen de Guadalupe. The image of Guadalupe provides support for those who believe in her divine power as the deliverer from oppression. El Teatro Campesino has created a cultural piece titled La Virgen de Tepeyac (The Virgin of Tepeyac). For many years now it has been performed during the early part of December in the mission church of San Juan Bautista, California. It has become a Bay Area Christmas tradition to make the two-hour journey to the small mission town to experience the miracle of Guadalupe, although all Mexican American churches throughout the

United States organize elaborate church ceremonies for December 12, the day of her appearance, so there are literally hundreds of celebrations one can choose from to commemorate the day. Contemporary Chicanas continuously look toward Guadalupe and reevaluate her influence in their mothers and grandmothers lives and in their own lives. Although she is the preeminent representation of womanhood, she has become an icon for womens subjugation and oppression. In the 1970s the artist Yolanda Lopez created a memorable image of working mothers by painting a garment worker at a sewing machine within the recognizable blue shield background that is easily acknowledged as the emblem of La Virgen de Guadalupe. In New Mexico a young Chicana created a dance theater piece titled Apariciones de la Madre, which incorporated modern ideas of women into the traditional images of the Aztec Guadalupe. Chicano muralists have painted images of Guadalupe in her traditional Aztec setting on barrio walls since the late 1960s, and often other cultural symbols, such as a low-rider car, are added to emphasize the Chicano experience. La Virgen de Guadalupe is revered religiously, candles are lit for her, flowers are left at the church for her, and yet she is very much a part of popular cultures. Her image is found on T-shirts, key rings, low-rider car hoods, and tattooed across adult male chests. Her face and form are frequently deciphered on tortillas, shadows on walls, and the trunks of trees. When such an image is found, thousands of people, whether in Mexico or the United States, flock to see and pray before the image. The influence of Guadalupe is as powerful today as it was 450 years ago.
See also El Teatro Campesino References Alarcon 1989; Brundage 1979; Demarest and Taylor 1956; Elizondo 1977; Johnston 1981; Lafaye 1983; Lea 1953; Quirarte 1992; Rodriguez, J., 1994; Vigil 1994, 1998; Wolf 1958