Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of a New Culture

<figure id="attachment_3589" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3589" style="width: 288px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a class="highslide" onclick="return vz.expand(this)" href="http://laprensa-sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Virgen-de-Guada… loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3589" title="Virgen de Guadalupe" src="http://laprensa-sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Virgen-de-Guada…; alt="Virgen de Guadalupe" width="288" height="399" srcset="https://dev-laprensa.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Virgen-… 288w, https://dev-laprensa.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Virgen-… 217w" sizes="(max-width: 288px) 100vw, 288px"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3589" class="wp-caption-text">Our Lady of Guadalupe at the Basilica in Mexico City. Photo by Fred von Son.</figcaption></figure>
 Despite the reality that much of the holiday season is tainted by overeager shoppers and overcrowded shopping malls, there is much to be thankful and to reflect on during the month of December. Regardless of the material hype of the holidays, some of the most sacred days of the year fall in this month, and they need not be forgotten.
On December 12th, many Mexican-Americans and Chicanos/as will be celebrating The Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. On this special day, the Virgin Mary appeared just outside of Mexico City to a Native American peasant named Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, asking him to bring an important message to the Bishop of Mexico City.
The Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe has not one but two meanings for the Mexican culture: the beginning of the Christmas season (which continues through January 6th) and also the appearance of Mary of Tepeyac in the cloak of peasant Juan Diego in the year 1531.
The story of Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe is a hopeful, mysterious and remarkable tale. Her appearance should not be contemplated or considered as a scientific phenomenon, but rather it should be regarded and revered as a miraculous union of countering cultures, creating a common understanding within two sides that struggled for decades to find a solution to their differences.
It was on the 9th of December in the year 1531 that Mary of Tepeyac first appeared to Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill. As a recently converted Catholic, he was making his way to Mexico City to attend mass at the church. From up the hill, Juan heard the sweet sounds of birds call his name. “Juanito,” he heard sing from an angelic voice.
After being summoned to the top of Tepeyac Hill, the Virgin Mary appeared to him bathed in light, telling him that he was her chosen one, and that she needed him to bring a message to the Bishop of Mexico City. There was to be a church built, here, on Tepeyac Hill, she claimed, where people could go to praise her only son and repent their sins.
As he had expected, when Juan Diego delivered the message to the church he was not taken seriously. After being hassled by several servants, he was finally given the attention of Bishop Fray Juan Zumarraga, who secretly believed Juan Diego’s plea but turned him away regardless. But Mexico had just been conquered by the Spaniards, and the Bishop knew that they needed all of the help they could get converting the resentful natives to Catholicism…was Mary’s appearance to Juan Diego the sign the Bishop had been hoping for?
Juan left disheartened but returned the next day to plea again. This time the bishop requested a sign, something sent by Mary herself to establish their belief in her, and sent him back on his way, still unsure of the meaning of Juan’s visit. On the third day, Juan’s uncle was ill and quickly nearing death.  Juan had no choice but to stay home and aid his ailing uncle Juan Bernardino.
When the morning came on December 12th, Juan Diego began a journey toward the city to receive a minister to provide the final blessings for his uncle Juan Bernardino. This time, Juan Diego ventured around the back of Tepeyac in order to avoid any distraction on his pursuit. Seeing him, Mary appeared again to Juan Diego and assured him that his Uncle had already been healed. She asked Juan Diego to climb up the hill at Tepeyac, where he would find marvelous flowers growing.
Despite the harsh weather, Juan Diego ascended the hill to look for the flowers, and was soon baffled by their colorful, vibrant presence. He picked the flowers, gathering them in his cloak and bringing them to the church as Mary had instructed. He was to only open the cloak in the presence of the bishop.
When he appeared before the Bishop, Juan Diego opened his cloak, dropping the flowers and the petals to the ground around their feet. To everyone’s astonishment, an imprint of Our Lady of Guadalupe was left in the cloth of Juan Diego’s cloak. This was the sign that Bishop Zumarraga needed to be convinced. After this day, the cloak was preserved and created into the shrine that is seen in her church.
The most gracious and miraculous aspect of this story dates back before Juan Diego’s time. Mesoamerica was in a state of transition when the Fall of Tenochtitlan took place. The challenge of merging two cultures (one of which had conquered the other) was a task far from simple.
Although the Spaniards actions precisely defined imperialism, the tyranny within the Aztec empire was also ruthless and inhumane. The Aztecs were slaying and sacrificing other ethnic groups who were trying to gain their independence. This divided Mesoamerica solidified the idea that change was needed. 
Today the conversion from the Aztec empire to Christianity can hopefully be seen as a blessing in disguise and Our Lady of Guadalupe can be seen as a symbol of this fusion of cultures.
Not only is there irony in the fact that Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego, a Native American, as her chosen one, but also quizzical is the location of her appearance. Just near the hill of Tepeyac was a cave that had been known as a Mesoamerican worship site for Tonantzin, the indigenous mother or mother earth. Was the proximity of the two idolized women simply coincidence?
By Mary appearing to Juan Diego as Our Lady of Guadalupe, a much needed surge of faith and unity was restored to the people of Mexico. Her appearance placed hope into the hearts of many Mesoamerican natives, uniting the Native people and the Spaniards together through Christianity.
The twelfth of December is a day of self-reflection; it is a day to be thankful for our families, for our mothers, for our health and the opportunities that we have been given. The twelfth of December is a day of rejoice, of praise, of healing, and above all things it is a day of cultural and religious celebration.
Some will venture on a two day journey by foot or bicycle to La Basilica de Guadalupe located in Mexico City. Most will enjoy an evening filled with feasting, family, reflection, and fireworks. But Mexico isn’t the only spot on the map that will be celebrating this holiday.
Churches throughout San Diego County have held services for Our Lady of Guadalupe Day in the past…Check out the online events page of your local churches to see if your community will be celebrating this year’s 12th of December.
So keep in mind the selfless actions of your ancestors. Remember the true reasons behind these special dates throughout the holiday season. Even if your culture or religious beliefs vary from those within this story, celebrate the beauty of the things you believe in.
If the apparition of Mary and her appearance on Tepeyac Hill do not ring true in your ears, the significance of her message should be enough to remind us of the miracles and beauty hidden in the seemingly normal events of everyday life. Mary’s bravery, nurturing nature, and faith in humanity should all be characteristics we strive for… especially at a time of year when these ideas are so often overlooked.