Gutierrez, Kimberly (Week 3)

     As a kid in my community, murals of la Virgen de Guadalupe were always prevalent throughout my childhood. During my visit to Mexico with my family in 2008, I remember not only looking at religious artwork, but beautiful sculptures of her displayed throughout my parent’s pueblo. In my parent's pueblo in Michoacan, Mexico, every year in December they have a celebration that primarily commemorates the Virgen de Guadalupe, where many people attend this festival and have a parade that pays tribute to her. As part of the celebration, people bring flowers, carry the image of her, there are musical performances made by dancers—people gather together and sing meaningful songs that honor her. Additionally, growing up in a Catholic household, her imagery was prominent in church spaces as she continues to be an important religious figure in Catholicism. My family would often ask the Virgen of Guadalupe to intercede for us in a moment of prayer. 

    In my time attending catholic school, the image of the Virgen de Guadalupe was ideally present in the classrooms and hallways. One of my most rememberable experiences was creating and replicating her image with coloring pages as well as drawings. The teacher also had us create a mini sculpture made out of colored paper and presented our work on the wall. Another great experience was being part of a school play that unfolded the story of Joseph and the Virgen de Guadalupe—my role was portraying her which was quite an interesting experience.

    Aside from my experiences in Catholic school, I sometimes see the image of the Virgen de Guadalupe around East Los Angeles, such as in paintings or murals behind food markets being displayed as wall art in Latin shops throughout the region, including Latin communities in various parts of the country. The image of the Virgen de Guadalupe is monumental for many Latin Americans, especially those who commemorate traditions of Catholicism and hold its rituals and values within their families or identity.