The Virgin of Guadalupe

07/06/14 Teotihuacán, México
Here the Virgin of Guadalupe is shown with blonde hair and a white complexion as well as with the angels. She is also not wearing the bow around her waist that represented her royalty and pregnancy. 

07/06/14 Market Teotihuacán, México
The image of the Virgin of Guadalupe is simple. The complexion of her and the angel are darker showing the indigenous side. 

07/06/14 Market Teotihuacán, México
Here the color of the Virgin of Guadalupe's clothes are blue and a brownish color instead of the blue-green color, along with this she has black hair and a white complexion. This image was also made with the thread from the inner part of the Agave plant. 

07/05/14 Puebla, México
Here the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe is softened. Her cheeks are rosy as well as the color of her mantle and dress.

07/06/14 Teotihuacán, México
This is a more traditional picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

07/06/14 Teotihuacán, México
This is a ring with the Virgin of Guadalupe on it. Here her mantle is blue and instead of stars there are flowers surrounding her.

07/06/14 Market.  Teotihuacán, México
This is a completely different representation of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Unlike the traditional one, she has no details. It simply is a more round outline of the image.

07/06/14 Market. Teotihuacán, México
The Virgin of Guadalupe here is carved into a piece of obsidian. It is very detailed and beautiful.

07/06/14 Market. Teotihuacán, México
This is a pretty unique representation of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Here she is outlined by roses and her mantle is plain.

07/08/14  México City, México
Here two angels are giving the Virgin of Guadalupe a crown. In addition her mantle is a royal blue color and her hair is brown compared to more traditional images.

07/08/14 México City, México
This is a much darker representation of the Virgin of Guadalupe. This image was printed on a postcard. Here not only is her complexion darker, but so is her wardrobe. Also instead of stars on her mantle she has a different design. 

07/08/14 México City, México
This is a really beautiful picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe that is on the side of a picture frame. Once again, instead of stars on her mantle, she is surrounded by flowers. She has a whiter complexion as well as a deeper blue colored mantle compared to the blue-green one.

The Virgin of Guadalupe

Before the Spanish arrived in México, the indigenous groups that occupied the area each worshiped different gods. During this time there were many great indigenous groups. One of the great groups known as the Aztecs worshiped 5 gods. These gods were Tezcatlipoca, Nanauatl, Ehecatl, Quetzalcoatl, and Huitzilopochtli. According to the article Ancient Aztec Religion, Tezcatlipoca was the god who turned into a jaguar, Nanauatl was the god who became a sun that made no movements, Ehecatl was known as the god that sacrificed himself and the other gods in order for the humans to live, and Quetzalcoatl was known as the feathered serpent god who created the humans. Lastly, Huitzilopochtli was known as the god of war. To the Aztecs, these gods represented the sun, the destruction and creation of the world, and the lives of humans. According to the same article, the humans were given life due to the sacrifices each of the gods made. As a result, the Aztecs were to repay this debt by blood as well, which resulted in sacrifices. What the indigenous people didn’t realize a new threat would come along and change their lives forever; the Spanish.

 The arrival of the Spanish changed the lives of the indigenous groups just as stated. With Hernán Cortés as the head of the Spanish army, the indigenous people were forced to forget who they were and forced to follow new traditions, customs, and a new religion. Their land had been taken over by Spain and their civilizations ruined. This can easily be seen with the Templo Mayor, which was the main temple for the Aztecs. The Spanish had torn it down to build the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary of Mexico City. Today in México City one can still see the ruins of the Templo Mayor right next to the Cathedral. In addition, Mexico City actually sits on what was once the empire of the Aztecs that was known as Tenochtitlán.

Furthermore, during the Spanish rule, the Roman Catholic Church played a huge role in shaping the people of México and the country through religion. According to the article Religion, “[Hernán Cortés] was accompanied by Roman Catholic clergy. All new Spanish territories were to be conquered in the name of the cross as well as the crown.” With this, the gods that the indigenous groups worshiped were pushed aside. The people were forced to follow the catholic religion and adapt to the many practices that came along with it.

One of the pillars of the catholic religion that is seen all throughout Mexico today is the Virgin of Guadalupe. The Virgin of Guadalupe is actually another form of the Virgin Mary. The people of México identify with the Virgin of Guadalupe the most due to her appearance and the language she speaks. In addition, the article Our Lady of Guadalupe (Saints & Angels) states, “One of the more remarkable attributes of the Guadalupe of Extremadura is that she is dark, like the Americans, and thus she became the perfect icon for the missionaries who followed Cortés to convert the natives to Christianity.” The Spanish used it as a way for the natives to identify with something within the religion and which would benefit them converting the natives. If the people who are lost and confused can identify with something or someone who looks just like them and is treated very highly above all, then they will believe that their suffering and pain that they endured will stop once they follow in the practice of that saint. Furthermore, the same article goes on to confirm this by stating, “Guadalupe continues to be the mixture of the cultures which blended to form México, both racially and religiously, ‘the first mestiza,’ or ‘the first Mexican’ ‘bringing together people of distinct cultural heritages.” In other words, people are able to identify with the Virgin of Guadalupe due to her race and the cultures within being mestiza and/or Mexican. She is able to identify with the majority of the people of México.

In addition, according to the article Our Lady of Guadalupe (About), the history of the Virgin of Guadalupe started with a man named Juan Diego who was a poor Aztec man. On his way to visit a chapel on top of Tepeyac Hill, he came across a beautiful woman. This woman spoke to him in his native tongue explaining that she was the Virgin Mary and in addition, she requested a church built in her honor on top of the hill. Here she will be able to listen to the people and heal them. Soon after seeing her Diego ran to tell the Bishop as she had asked. As the Bishop was unwilling to believe him, Juan Diego returned to see Virgin Mary waiting for him. The article continues to state that she told him to keep trying and after failing to get the Bishop to believe him a few more times, Mary had sent Juan on a small mission to obtain flowers on the side of the mountain. With these flowers she made an image of her for the Bishop to realize that everything Juan told him was the true. During this, Juan had an uncle who was ill and as a result of him helping her, his uncle was cured. When Juan and the Bishop met with the uncle, the uncle said that the lady wanted to be called Santa María de Guadalupe. With this article, one can see the history behind how the Virgin of Guadalupe came to be and the trust she had for the people of México. 

In addition to this, every aspect of the Virgin of Guadalupe is symbolic, from the cloths she wears to the rays of light surrounding her. For instance according to the article called Symbolism of the Image, the rays of light around her represent “the light is also a sign of the power of God who has sanctified and blessed the one who appears […] the rays of the sun would also be recognized by the native people as a symbol of their highest god, Huitzilopochtli.” The crescent moon at her feet in which she is standing on represents “the moon for the Meso-Americans [in which] was the god of the night.” The angel that is holding her up with the moon represents the type of class in which she represents, that of royalty. The blue-green mantle that she wears has colors that represent a high status that she holds. The stars on her mantle signify that she is from heaven. Also the bow that is around her waist signifies her virginity as well as the way it is placed shows that she is actually pregnant. This article helps clearly explain every aspect of the Virgin of Guadalupe that is important. All of these aspects of the Virgin of Guadalupe have relation to the indigenous groups and how they view her. They turn to her when they feel helpless and when they need a miracle to happen. She holds a very important part in the lives of those who look up to her and praise her every day. With this people have their own interpretations of how she looks as well as how she should be represented. For instance with the pictures taken in México, although some of them may look the same, there are actually differences in the details, such as the color of skin, hair, and the color of her clothes. In one photo she has black hair with a white complexion and a blue mantle. Another she is blushing and her features are softer with a brighter green mantle. There are many different ways that the Virgin of Guadalupe is represented through pictures, statues, and more.

                                                                                       Works Cited

“Ancient Aztec Religion.” Aztec-history. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jul. 2014. <http://www.aztec-history.com/ancient-aztec-religion.html> 

“Our Lady of Guadalupe (About).” Catholic online. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jul. 2014. <http://www.catholic.org/about/guadalupe.php>

“Our Lady of Guadalupe (Saints & Angels).” Catholic online. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jul. 2014. <http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=456>

“Religion.” Countrystudies. U.S. Library of Congress, n.d. Web. 14 Jul. 2014. <http://countrystudies.us/mexico/61.htm>

“Symbolism of the Image.” Olgaustin. Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, n.d. Web. 13 Jul. 2014. <http://www.olgaustin.org/symbolism.shtml>