LA VIRGEN DE GUADALUPE – REINA DE LA GENTE—MOTHER OF THE PEOPLE
“Querida Virgen, conceived without sin, I come to your throne of grace to share the fervent devotion of your faithful Mexican children who call to you under the glorious Aztec title of Guadalupe. Obtain for me a lively faith to do your Son’s holy will always: May His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” - - Prayer to the Virgin of Guadalupe.
The story of the Virgin of Guadalupe is not familiar, or even believable to everyone. But if you ask most Mexicans what La Virgen means to them they will respond with a mix of enthusiasm to talk about their true love and disbelief that you are even asking the question.
The Virgin of Guadalupe is one of the most celebrated religious icons of the Latino/Mexicano Catholic people. She is the most prayed to religious entity, next to Jesus Christ. She is a woman who has served as guardian or patroness of the indigenous people of the Americas for almost five hundred years. The Latino/Mexicano Catholic people see her as a milagro, a miracle sent from God to transform the separation of religion and culture and to unite the people under one God. Her arrival marked the birth of a new land and a new people, neither European nor Indigenous, but both--she is a Mestizo, the first Mexican.
She is the symbol of ethnic identity, uniting people of different races, religions and languages. She manifests, symbolizes and activates the power of the people. She is a cultural symbol of justice, unconditional love, union, belonging, family, and home.
She remains the most powerful religious presence for Latinos/Mexicanos on both sides of the border. Generations upon generations of families treasure her presence and recognize her as Mother of all Mexicans. Her strengths continue to inspire her children toward change, fulfillment and honor.
The story of La Virgen is that she appeared to an indigenous peasant man, Juan Diego Coatlatoatzín, who had just converted to Christianity, shortly after the Spanish invasion. She asked him to build a church in her name. When Juan Diego informed the local Bishop of the Virgin’s request, the Bishop disregarded Juan Diego and asked him to provide proof if it were really true.
The Virgin appeared to Juan Diego once again and told him to return to the spot where she wanted the church built. He returned to find roses blooming in the cold, winter snow. He gathered the roses in his tilma and returned to the Bishop. When he let the roses fall to the ground the two men witnessed the appearance of the Virgin on Juan Diego’s tilma. Era un milagro. It was a miracle. The church was built shortly after the Virgin appeared on Juan Diego’s tilma in 1531. And it was rebuilt in the exact location in 1709. Then it was rebuilt again in 1976.
Juan Diego’s tilma, has been the subject of widespread scrutiny over the years. It sits in the newest Basilica in a glass frame high up on the wall of the building, above the altar, protected and adored. Experts have confirmed that the fabric is from the 16th century, but they have not been able to determine the type of pigment from which the image was rendered. Many people have concluded that it is not very likely that human hands were capable of creating such an exquisite portrait in the Colonial era in Mexico. It seems doubtful it can be done in Mexico today. Aside from all that, the most miraculous thing about the tilma is that, after 465 years, the image of the Virgen de Guadalupe remains clearly imprinted on the miraculous cloak without any visible signs of deterioration.
There are many skeptics of the appearance of the Virgin on the tilma, but the majority of Latino/Mexicano Catholics are not among them. La Virgen de Guadalupe has a strong bond with Latino/Mexicanos. Her miracle is their miracle and their hope for strength in their daily lives. It is not an accident that the Basilica in Mexico City is one of the most visited Catholic churches in the world. People come from everywhere to walk, many on their knees, to the building that houses la Reina de Mexico.
La Virgen de Guadalupe is mother to all Latinos/Mexicanos, not just the struggling or the poor or the immigrant. She is there for the wealthy as well as the desperate. You can find her painted on the side of a wall in a dangerous neighborhood in east L.A. with the same “tenderness and depth of emotion and devotion” as you could find her on the key chain of any Mercedes or Lexus anywhere in the Americas. Both the gang members and the attorneys find the Virgin to be their common ground.
Many families take her as their patron saint, where she becomes the ambassador or advocate between them and heaven. Since her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531, thousands upon thousands of Latino/Mexicano Catholics have produced testimonials of the miracle of the Virgin in their own lives.
Testimonies of the Guadalupanas
Guadalupanas are the people who devote themselves almost exclusively to the Virgin of Guadalupe. These people truly believe that she is a true miracle worker. They consider her not only a religious entity but a patriotic and cultural entity as well.
In "Rain of Gold " Victor Villasenor, grandson of Mexican immigrants to the United States, wrote the story of his family, their life in Mexico, their struggle leaving the country during the revolution and their triumphs in California. He helps outsiders start to understand the one-on-one, member-of-the-family relationship Mexicans have with the Virgin when he tells of his grandmother taking a small glass of whiskey, and her cigarettes to the outhouse each morning, "To have a little talk with the Virgin."
Octavio Paz, Mexican thinker, writer and Nobel prize recipient said, "When Mexicans no longer believe in anything, they will still hold fast to their belief in two things: the National Lottery and the Virgin of Guadalupe. In this I think they will do well. For both have been known to work, even for those of us who believe in nothing."
Chicana writer Gloria Anzaldúa writes, "She is like my race - a synthesis of the old world and the new, of the religion and culture of the two races in our psyche, the conquerors and the conquered."
In the 1970’s United Farm Workers' head Cesar Chavez carried the banner of Guadalupe in his relentless struggle for economic justice for migratory workers. Chavez and the UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta worked under the slogan " Sí se puede" (Yes it can be done).
According to Dolores Huerta, "She (La Virgen) is a symbol of faith, hope and leadership. She has been incorporated into everything we do, if she’s not there, you notice her absence right away." Today Mexican American women in Mexico and the United States are seeing Our Lady of Guadalupe in a new light, using her to demand and expect more from themselves, their jobs, their homes and their communities. Guadalupe is certainly up for this new role, as one woman said, "The virgin transcends all things. She is strength, and she is beauty, and she is wisdom and compassion." Huerta, who raised 11 children alone during the very difficult UFW years speaks for millions of Mexicans in many conditions when she says, "I don’t think I could have survived without her.”
An anonymous Mexican woman said, "Everywhere I go, she is my guide, infusing me with a power that says, "sí se puede."
World famous singer/song writer Juan Gabriel said, "I saw the Virgin of Guadalupe in Extramadura, Spain, and our Mexican one is better looking. I think I am in love with the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe." A Mexican businessman was asked about his feelings for Our Lady, he paused, took a deep breath, and with a voice deep with emotion, stated, "I love her."
One of the cast members, a devout Catholic woman from Las Vegas, New Mexico says this: “Our Lady of Guadalupe has been the patron saint of my family for more than 150 years, but this is only what we can actually trace. In our eyes, Our Lady is most powerful and strong. We can turn to her at any time and know that somehow our prayers will be answered via her intercession with Jesus her son and God, the Father of all. My family cannot imagine a life without Our Lady of Guadalupe at the center of our faith and our lives. Our lives would be totally empty without her. Our challenge now is to keep this faith going with our children and with our grandchildren. We have hopes that they will continue this family tradition and grab hold of the faith we wish to give them so that they know where to draw strength during times of trial.”
The Virgin is a Symbol of Hope for the Future
It has been said that from the moment of her appearance, the Virgin was a time bomb moving steadily through three centuries to explode into a call for freedom from Spain. In 1810, when Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla called for an uprising which led to the Independence of Mexico from Spain, he adopted La Virgen’s pennant as the first Mexican flag. As a matter of fact, her image has repeatedly been taken as an unofficial national symbol, and a great many Mexicans proudly proclaim themselves "Mexicans and Guadalupans."
Throughout history her image has followed her people through war and famine and slavery on both sides of the border. Her image keeps them strong.
December 12 is the celebration day of the Virgin of Guadalupe. It is an official national holiday, observed with pilgrimages, processions, special masses, fiestas, and Indian dances in front of some churches. It is a celebration that unites the people, of many different classes and races. In a sense, the Virgin of Guadalupe represents the essence of Mexico, the fusion of two cultures, Catholic Spain and indigenous Mexico. She is the heart and soul of her people and the hope of people for a nation.
