December 12th is the date on which all Mexicans and countless worshipers from abroad honor Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Blessed brown-skinned Mother and Queen, patron saint of Mexico. Her miraculous appearance to young Juan Diego on the hill of Tepeyac near Mexico City in 1531, with her request passed on in Nahuatl to build a church upon that spot, has led to a rich religious tradition that is one of the dearest in the hearts of natives of this country. Our Lady of Guadalupe, with her compassion and wisdom, symbolizes the most inspired and hopeful qualities of Mexico and of us all.
Virgin of Guadalupe Procession
The Basilica of Guadalupe in the Tepeyac sector of Mexico City is one of the most ardently visited religious sites in the world, bringing close to 20 million pilgrims every single year to its portals to seek healing, aid and consolation from the Virgin.
Here in Ixtapa ZIhuatanejo, celebrations for the Virgin can begin several days prior to the 12th, when separate barrios or neighborhoods of town, or individual businesses such as hotels and restaurants, load images of the Virgin of Guadalupe onto the truckbeds of pickups or other vehicles and festoon them with masses of brilliantly blossoming flowers, flashing Christmas lights, balloons, paper and plastic streamers. These floats are then slowly driven through town from each neighborhood to the local church for blessing. The vehicles are followed by the townspeople from each barrio who accompany them on foot carrying candles and flowers, playing instruments, singing songs and dancing native dances. The processions often temporarily stop up traffic in town and delays are common, so take that into consideration during these dates. This can happen even on major thoroughfares including the highway between Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo, so beware and be patient.
One of the lovely high points in our particular area, being right on the Pacific coast and settled on a lovely, usually calm bay, is that every year right at or after sunset, we can watch the procession of small fishing boats, rather than vehicles, making their way along the shoreline from Playa Las Gatas all the way to Playa Municipal. The boats, at least one of which carefully carries an image of the Virgin from Las Gatas, are lit with flickering candles and are also festooned with streamers and balloons, and often flowers or flower petals are strewn along the water as they pass. Sounds of soft singing and chanting waft over the water to those watching from the shore.
The processions carry on daily, culminating on the evening of December 11th, when the last of the pilgrims bring their Guadalupe images in to the church, and the areas around the houses of worship in town are by then overflowing with people. The Church at Plaza Kioto along the canal is the major gathering spot for the all-night vigil for the Virgin on the Eve of her feast day.
Photo backdrop of the Virgin
On the night of the 11th, the churchyard is replete with food stands offering tamales, both sweet and spicy, steaming cobs of corn slathered in cream and grated cheese, jicama slices sprinkled with lime juice and red chile powder, tostadas and coconut candies. Kiosks and photography stands are set up with incredibly ornate backdrops of towering, snow capped volcanos and sweeping land or seascapes combined with the image of the Virgin herself, where you and your loved ones can pose for your picture under her protection, or have a calendar made for the new year with that selfsame photo attached and by which you can remain under the Virgin’s protective aegis throughout the coming year. Other backdrops and props allow you (or more likely, the younger kids in the crowd, who have been dressed in the typical costumes of Juan Diego and Maria) to have their photos taken while kneeling at a heavy, lava-rock metate, grinding corn, or perched on a wooden horse, hat on head and serape draped across their shoulders, with a grandiose vista of Mexico’s countryside behind, and under the ever-present protective gaze of the Virgin.
