Lopez, Josue (Week 3)

I grew up in an evangelical Christian household. My parents were moderately religious, so I remember often going to church with them, sometimes three times a week, and spending Sundays mornings in church receiving religious classes. However, I had many school friends who, unlike me, were Catholic. I remember some of them wore rosaries around their necks. Seeing the reverence with which my friends talked about their faith and the Virgin of Guadalupe, imprinted in my young mind the spiritual and social importance of the Virgin of Guadalupe to my community. Growing up, I came to realize that for many people in my community, the Virgin of Guadalupe represents something bigger than Catholicism or religion. She also represents a connection to their culture, their language, and their ancestral lands. The Virgin of Guadalupe holds such a sacred place for Chicanx and Latinx people because her image transcends religious and cultural barriers and speaks to the common, unifying experience of Latinx people in the United States. Like Latinx people in the U.S., the Virgin of Guadalupe has also been racialized as foreign. Despite this, Chicanx and Latinx communities and artists challenge these narratives by reinterpreting and reenvisioning the Virgin of Guadalupe not only as a religious and cultural symbol but also as a symbol of female empowerment and social justice.