La Virgen De Guadalupe
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La Virgen de Guadalupe
The culture of Mexico is unique, like that of any other country. Religion is one of the main parts of life in Mexico, since predominantly, people are Catholic. The devotion to the church and many saints especially to the Virgin of Guadalupe (Virgen de Guadalupe) which is the patroness of the Americas, is very present in Mexico.
The Virgin of Guadalupe, the patroness of the Americas, is the symbolic mother of Mexicans everywhere, the symbol of Mexican identity, history, and culture. The image of the Virgin, Nuestra SeÑora de Guadalupe, is more than an image. The portrait is a history lesson since the design on the Virgins dress point to the geography of Mexico and to Nahuatl (Aztec/Mexica) deities. The symbols also reveal part of the message of the Virgin to Juan Diego, the Nahuatl artisan who saw the Virgin. The symbols held a special meaning for the indigenous people of Mexico due to their tradition of this type of writing:
The mantle is blue-green, the color reserved for Ometecuhti/Onecihuatl who are the divine couple considered the creator and unifying force of all creation. The mantle is covered with stars and these reflect the eras of this civilization and the relationship to Ometeotl the god of all duality.
The dress or robe is red with symbolic “writings” that tell a story to the Nahuatl people.
The belt worn by the Virgin is a maternity band, explaining expectant birth or new expectations.
The virgin is stepping on the moon, indicating greater importance in relation to the sister of the sun, Coyolxauhqui.
The golden rays of the sun point to the presence of the “sun” god, Quetzalcoatl.
The angel who “carries” the Virgin is perceived as the symbol for a new beginning, and also denotes Nahuatl nobility since royalty were always carried.
According to tradition, the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego, an Indian, on a hill near the outskirts of Mexico City on a December morning in 1531. Juan Diego crossed the barren hill called Tepeyac to attend Mass. He was brought to a sudden halt by a blinding light and the sound of unearthly music. Before him appeared an astounding vision–a beautiful dark-skinned woman who, calling the Indian “my son,” declared herself to be the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. She told Juan Diego it was her desire to have a church built on Tepeyac hill, and asked him to relay that message to Bishop Juan de Zumarraga. Before the Conquest, the site of her apparition, Tepeyac, had been a sacred place dedicated to the Aztec goddess, Tonantzin. The image, imprinted on Juan Diegos mantle, was one of a brown-skinned madonna with pre-Columbian vestiges, and struck a chord with her early supplicants. A cult soon developed around “La Morenita.” She was adopted as a symbol of Mexican nationalism, and has become a rallying point