Keossian, Alberto: Week 5 - La Virgen De Guadalupe Experience

 

What an interesting feeling it is to reflect on my experiences with La Virgen De Guadalupe. I remember as a young child I was always fascinated by and excited of my Catholic religious origins. There was a sense of importance through duty or privilege in being part of a catholic community that I obviously could not contextualize as a child; but the feeling of significance was definitely there. More specifically, there was a very unique connection to La Virgen. She felt like a second mother, one that I had to never disappoint and one I had to always be grateful for even though her existence or significance was never very clear to me at that age. I remember holding her so high in importance, she almost met the same level of importance as my grandmother (who there was literally no one more important ever on the planet than her in my eyes). My grandmother was also the one who emphasized La Virgen De Guadalupe most. She had multiple images of her framed throughout her home, little cut outs in drawers, and postcard-like flyers with prayers on the back on countertops.

I think this significance I portrayed to La Virgen was further strengthened by her visual presence or interpreted presence. The physical imagery was something that always left me awestruck. Her calming expression, her silky emerald-blue mantel, and bright brilliant gold light emanating from behind her was a visual presence that felt of such high importance.

However, as I got older, I began to stray from my religious roots and attachments and steered more towards making sense of things for myself and for the sake of my enjoyment in thinking rather than the unanswered being given to spiritual or faithful avenues. My relationship to La Virgen De Guadalupe has dramatically changed since I was a child. However, I feel the overall sensation of the figure’s importance or significance has remained, although not for the same reasons. Guadalupe, now, acts more as a symbolistic memory that I connect to the relationship between myself and my grandmother who passed some time ago. She also feels symbolic to connecting to ChicanX/LatinX cultures, particularly in Los Angeles.