Extra Credit: Virgen de Guadalupe Celebration in Placita Olvera

   

I attended the Virgen de Guadalupe Celebration in Placita Olvera on Friday night. As we discussed in class, the 12th of December is the Day of la Virgen and there are processions and celebration around the world in her honor. At around 8pm there was a procession of community members that ended at Nuestra Señora Reina de los Angeles. There was a vigil overnight where many people gathered to light veladoras and bring her roses and other flowers. In the placita itself there was various vendors, and musical and dance performances throughout the weekend. There was also a life-size nativity scene in the kiosco that many people gathered around to take pictures. At the church there were also vendors and mass to sing her las mañanitas was held at 5am Saturday morning. One thing I noticed and found interesting were the ways in which La Virgen was portrayed and the way she was worn on clothing. Her traditional depiction remained prominent (there was no Virgen in heels or doing karate) but what changed were the colors used in her image for example on printed products or on knitted ponchos made in blue, red, purple, and brown.  It was my first time attending this celebration in Placita Olvera and I enjoyed it very much because as we discussed in class La Virgen is a big part of Mexican culture and traditions. In my own community there was also a procession, and families in my neighborhood rotated the Virgen's image from home to home and prayed the novenario in her honor the week before.