By: David Conde
December the 12th marks the last time the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego to give him the command that transformed the Catholic world of the Americas. All of the communications she had with San Juan Diego were as an Indian mother seeking to assure a place for her pre-Columbian children that were now wards of the Spanish Empire.
In doing so, she also assured a place for all of the descendant Indian and Mestizo communi- ties as they navigated the catastrophic difficulties of the 300-year Spanish colonial rule and the decades of displacement and instability of a nation in development. In her time as a faithful companion to her children she has taken her banner to all of the Americas including the United States.
One of the curious things about religious icons is that they tend to reflect the color, ethnicity and race of those they have chosen to advocate for and defend. It is not surprising therefore that Jesus Christ, for example, is depicted as light complected and even blonde and blue-eyed in the regions that look like that. In other parts of the world with darker people, the Lord gets darker too. The same is set to happen as the people of our country become darker. At some point the “Brown Virgin” will fit very well with the catholic com- munity in our emerging America.
I have had occasions to visit Mexico City during the week-long festival ending with the special offerings to the Virgin. Prominent among the pilgrims that come to pay hom- age are the Indian communities throughout the country that come in their full regalia.
To these communities, the Virgin is Tonantzin, mean- ing “Sacred Mother” in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztec Empire. In the pre-Columbian pantheon Tonantzin is the counterpart to Coatlicue (Serpent Skirt) the mother of Huitzilopotchli the god of the Mexica (Aztec) Civilization and the lord commanding the principle pyramid alters of the nation.
Coatlicue and Tonantzin represent the 2 sides of the Great Mother archetype. Coatlicue the Terrible Mother is not only the goddess of childbirth, but also of violence and chaos as she birthed Huitzilopotchli as a full-grown man so that he could immediately take on his adversaries and fight his way out of her womb.
Tonantzin takes on the role of the Good Mother that although depicted as an abstract symbol in her origins in Mesoamerica, she relates to a people in transition in her human form. Not only that, she also mirrors the physical image of those she came to serve.
Mount Tepeyac, the site of the Virgin’s appearances has the old and new Basilicas and the chapel at the top of the hill first built to honor her. The old Basilica has been restored and now serves a museum.
The new one is very modern-looking and holds the original image that was on the poncho worn by Juan Diego in which he carried the roses sent by the Virgin of Guadalupe to Bishop Zumarraga as proof of her appearance and her wish to have a temple constructed there. When Juan Diego opened his garb to show the Bishop the flowers, it was the image of the Virgin that was revealed.
December 12th also begins the Mexican Christmas season in earnest. There is much to see in the displays and much to experience in Mexico City and elsewhere in the country.
La Calsada de Guadalupe, the route to the Basilica, is the place to be on the 12th. There, worship takes many forms.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of la Voz bilingüe. Comments and responses may be directed to news@lavozcolorado.com.
