Virgin of Guadalupe

The Virgin of Guadalupe was the icon all women in my family prayed to whenever they needed a miracle. My grandmothers, my aunts, and my mother all looked up to her as a protector and as the one who would actually listen to their needs. Within my family the Virgin of Guadalupe, till this day, holds more power than Jesus and God.

My miracle baby brother
and myself.

            When I was ten years old my mother got pregnant, from the beginning we new that the pregnancy was going to need a miracle. The doctors told her that their was a lot of risk involved and that my little brother might be born premature and with many health problems. I remember my mother was scared and she had nowhere else to turn but to her faith, she prayed to the Virgin of Guadalupe and ask her for a favor. She asked for my little brother to be born healthy and in return my mother would visit the Virgin of Guadalupe every December 12^th and thank her for the miracle.

            On December 5, 2001 my little brother was born and of course it was seen as a miracle, he was born premature but healthy and the Virgin of Guadalupe had made it all happen. My mother’s faith in the Virgin of Guadalupe grew. Till this day my mother has kept her promise, every year no matter what my mother goes to church on December 12^th and thanks the Virgin of Guadalupe for saving my little brother.

            Personally, with religion, I am in the in-between. Because I grew up going to church every Sunday, praying to God, Jesus and the Virgin of Guadalupe every single night, and in the idea that heaven exists it is difficult for me to reject my religion. But I know the history of Catholicism, and I know that it was used as a tool to control people, especially women. Our religion has become part of our culture and it is very hard to separate the two. Chicana artist have taken the image of a powerful icon and made her normal, I do appreciate the interpretations of the Virgin of Guadalupe as an ordinary woman. By presenting the Virgin of Guadalupe as “Guadalupe Walking” we as women can also free ourselves from the strong holds that our gender and culture forces upon us. “Guadalupe Walking” pushes women to see themselves as powerful individuals, and alters our thoughts on an icon that has been silent for too long.