My relation with the image and symbol of La Virgen de Guadalupe has been shaped by my family and the context in which I grew up. As a child living in Estado de Mexico, La Virgen was a constant presence since my earliest memories, every childhood home I can remember had a portrait of her hung somewhere. But more importantly than the image, the immense devotion and respect for the figure was felt in the rural municipalities where my family lived and in every little alley and market of Mexico City. I think the manifestation of this devotion that amazed me the most was the yearly pilgrimage to the Basilica de Guadalupe on Monte Tepeyac in Mexico City. Every year hundreds of people would walk from their communities to this church, carrying little to no gear and oftentimes sleeping in the streets of the communities they passed on the way there. My maternal grandmother would open her doors to them every year, feeding them and letting them sleep in her yard. The image of these devout people, mending their blistered feet and sleeping on the grass only to get up in the morning and continue walking left me confused and in awe. The church itself is located on a hill and is built on top of the ruins of the former temple for Tonantzin, a motherly goddess whose name means “our venerated mother” in Nahuatl. Knowing that the Spaniards destroyed and appropriated the indigenous people’s sacred site still angers me, and her image is a constant reminder of the rampant cultural erasure perpetrated by the colonizers. However, many still refer to her as Tonantzin Guadalupe, and the hybridity of both the myth and the sacred site is a beautiful representation of the mixed, though violent, cultural heritage of Mexico. I am not a devout catholic, despite going to Sunday school growing up and having two very devout grandmas, but out of the myriad of representations of the Virgin Mary, most of which are pale and European looking, La Virgen de Guadalupe is the one I feel the most attachment to.
Hi Emilio, this is a beautifully written piece. I loved your illustration of the annual pilgrimage – the description of the peoples' hardships while walking ("sleeping in the streets," and "mending their blistered feet,") – this is an excellent way of describing the meaning of faith and devotion, and sense of community that comes along with shared belief. Though I'm not Catholic either, your writing allowed me to understand the importance religious figures can have for believers, and the power of communal ritual.
ReplyDeleteHi Emilio,
ReplyDeleteI completely resonate with your statements. I often find myself conflicted ever since I was educated on the colonial start in Mexico and the eraser and displacement of indigenous people along the path of building temples such as la basilica. Even though I am catholic but not as devout as others I try to fully acknowledge and teach others that behind beautiful images and figures we venerate there is still violence and historical discourse that is left out of teachings for the simple reason that they do now want it to be known.