Week 5: La Virgen De Guadalupe Experience

    


My mom and dad immigrating from El Salvador both placed a significant presence of La Virgen De Guadalupe as their protector, ensuring that they made it safely to the United States. The catholic church was a second home for all of my Tia, Tios, primas, primos. it became a safe place where they could pray for protection, forgiveness, and thankfulness. I recall every Sunday my mom would force my sister and me to get up and go to church no matter how much we pleaded to sleep just ten extra minutes, after she would drag us both out of bed, she would pull up our hair in gel, squeeze us into a tight dress, and strap on the most uncomfortable shoes.

 Considering how exhausting this process made me each Sunday I began to resent church. Every time the priest started mass I would drown out their voice by choosing not to translate Spanish to English and when my sister and I were placed outside with the children’s group I would cast myself off choosing not to make friends and push everyone away. 

Yet the only thing that remained untainted by pessimistic aura was the artwork within the church, I remained entranced by the paintings on the walls depicted Christ's story, how the sunlight glossed over the stained glass windows, and most especially the prayer room for La Virgen De Guadalupe. This prayer room was covered from top to bottom in white marble and the center was the iconic image of La Virgen, this room held such an enormous sacred presence and each I entered I couldn’t help but lose my bothered demeanor. 

An event that solidifies her sacred presence was when my neighbor’s house caught on fire, luckily no one was home but everything inside the house was ruined. The next day as my mother and I were helping my neighbor clean up I was blown away to see that her picture of La Virgen De Guadalupe that was hung up on the wall where the fire began was unscathed, yet the frame was completely burnt just like all the other family photos there were placed on that same wall. Though I have not actively practiced Catholicism in years apart of I still believe that La Virgen De Guadalupe is watching over me just as she did my parents.