Conde, Daniela - Week 3

La Virgen de Guadalupe is an important sacred figure in many Mexicanxs, Chicanxs, Latinxs lives across Turtle Island, Latinoamerica and the world. For many Mexicanxs, it is more than just a religious figure or patron saint, it is also very much rooted in an Indigenous feminine force/being that predates Catholic imposition and forced colonial assimilation and violence. Many Mexicanxs, whether Catholic or not, also proudly declare their devotion as “Guadalupanos.” I think many years before I was born my town and neighboring towns would do pilgrimages to CDMX (Mexico City) to el cerro del Tepeyac where the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe now exists, these pilgrimages continue to this day. We had a designated space/altar/ofrenda for la Virgencita incorporated in the construction of our/my childhood home in Puebla, Mexico. La Virgen de Guadalupe was and also continues to be present in any space I have called “home” in Mexico and the United States, whether an actual physical small statue of la Virgencita or a frame. Personally, la Virgencita de Guadalupe is an important figure in my educational journey, I have held on tight to my bond, relationship, love and trust to la Virgencita. For me, she represents a Brown Indigenous goddess, who is divine, powerful, and free; madre tierra. Of course, there has also been a lot of criticisms of what La Virgen de Guadalupe represents and is also a central figure and has influenced Chicana/x Latina/x art, such as the recognizable Yolanda M. Lopez paintings among others that exist today. So much has been written about la Virgencita as well by queer Chicana scholars such as Gloria Anzaldua. There is also a book by Ana Castillo titled “Goddess of the Americas: Writings on the Virgen of Guadalupe” (Castillo, 1996) that is dedicated to La Virgen de Guadalupe. While La Virgen is very much recognized across the world and historically played a role in evangelizing Indigenous peoples in Mexico, as well as contributed to community organizing efforts in the Chicanx Social Movement and the Farm Workers Movement, it remains a very personal and sacred being to many of us. I find La Virgen de Guadalupe wherever I travel and in the smallest synchronicities and in beautiful murals in the streets. I particularly like the mosaic mural below because of my connection and proximity to the ocean on Kumeyaay coastal lands (SD), this public art piece (installed covertly, considered graffiti at one point) is titled “Surfing Madonna” by Mark Patterson and is located in coastal North County San Diego, a place I call home and has the words “save the ocean” on the mural.

"Surfing Madonna" by Mark Patterson, North County San Diego, CA (tierras Kumeyaay)