The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the most important religious symbols in the world, but in Latin America, she’s everything. Whether you’re Catholic or not, there’s something about her ingrained in the core of our identity. Of Mexican origin, Our Lady of Guadalupe became a pillar of Mexican identity, and eventually, an important symbol for Latin America.
But, how did a story that seems (no offense) unlikely, become such an important symbol of community and identity for most countries in Latin America? First things first, let’s look at the official version of the story.
Juan Diego and the Virgin on Tepeyac Hill
On a cold winter night in the sixteenth century, Juan Diego, a poor indigenous peasant was passing by the Tepeyac hill, when he saw a beautiful woman beaming with a unique, otherworldly light. She said she was the mother of the only God, and that she wished to have a chapel built in her honor on that hill.
Juan Diego went before the Bishop of Mexico, Juan de Zumárraga, and told him what he had just experienced, but he didn’t believe a word he said. The Virgin appeared before Juan Diego two more times, and the Bishop rejected his demands every time, but after seeing the peasant’s insistence, he asked Juan Diego to bring evidence of the existence of this Virgin.
On the fourth day, the Virgin told Juan Diego to climb the hill to pick some roses (a strange request to make in the middle of winter) and to take them to the Bishop. He did as instructed and wrapped the roses in his woven cape. When he was in front of the Bishop, he unwrapped the cape, revealing a colorful image of the Virgin printed on the fabric. Astounded, the Bishop kneeled in adoration and agreed to build her the chapel she deserved.
It’s said that the main image in the chapel is actually Juan Diego’s cape, which you can see at the Basilica de Guadalupe in Mexico City, where thousands of pilgrims from all over the continent (and I’d dare say, the world) go to worship on her day, December 12th.
Cultural syncretism in the Colony
Now, Mexico was a Spanish colony for centuries, so many important elements of our culture have been syncretized, meaning that even Our Catholic Lady of Guadalupe has important roots in pre-Hispanic traditions. The key to understanding the religious syncretism in Mesoamerican civilizations is that their polytheistic system was somewhat flexible in comparison to other cultures around the world.
Even before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors and missionaries, whenever a city or town was defeated by another, some of the victors’ deities were adopted by the defeated because they believed they had won because their gods were stronger than theirs. This is why there are so many coincidences in the representation and symbolism of deities all along what was once Mesoamerica.
A Catholic Virgin in the New World
Spanish missionaries understood this early on and used it to their advantage in their evangelization. One of the most effective methods was switching their “pagan” idols and symbols for Catholic ones, but the truth is that most of the conquered population was still worshiping the old gods even when they had been switched for white characters. Our Lady of Guadalupe is thought to be the substitute of the Aztec goddess Tonantzin. However, unlike many of the other “exchanges,” Guadalupe was a completely new character that appeared specifically in the New Spain.
Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
So, why wasn’t Tonantzin, “Our Venerated Mother,” replaced with a Virgin? One of the reasons why this religious figure is the glue that holds together the identity of Mexico and the rest of the continent is the Vatican’s rejection of the Americas as independent religious institutions. Around the seventeenth century, the Council of Trento decided that New Spain had to be dependent on the Spanish church fulfilling its missionary task. By then, most of the clergy population was creole or mestizo, and this insubordination was something they weren’t willing to take.
They understood that, although they had successfully implemented Catholicism, the indigenous population hadn’t fully embraced it. They needed a character, a symbol they could relate to, and more importantly, a miraculous character with American roots was their key to be recognized as an independent religious institution as powerful and influential as any other European one. Besides the story of Juan Diego, they had to incorporate as many pre-Hispanic symbols as possible in the Virgin of Guadalupe to make her that strong figure the indigenous people would truly worship.
Coatlicue
They took the goddess Tonantzin, and also elements of other similar deities from the region, like Coatlicue (goddess of life and death, guider of birth, and mother of the gods) and Cihuacóatl (warrior goddess, bringer of life and humanity). In addition, her bright and colorful attire also has pre-hispanic meaning. The green-blue cape she wears has the color with which many towns identified Quetzalcóatl (the feathered serpent), one of the main deities. The color also represents vegetation and the earth; thus, Our Lady of Guadalupe is the mother of the land as well. Her red tunic represents life itself, a color Tonantzin was also associated with.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of Mexico and Empress of the Americas, is the perfect symbol to understand the colonization of Latin America and the strong connections we have to our pre-Hispanic roots. The cult of Guadalupe, as it’s often called, isn’t only a matter of religious faith but also a way to celebrate our identity regardless of religious beliefs.
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You might also like these:
The Ancient Aztec Celebration That Became A 9-Day Christmas Party
The Ruthless Aztec Queen Who Made Statues With The Corpses Of Her Lovers
The Mystic Birth Ritual Of Mexican Pre-Hispanic Culture
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