For most of the people in the Spanish-speaking world, religion is a large part of daily life, and a large percentage of those people are Catholics. According to America Magazine, in 2010, the largest population of Catholics in the world resided in Latin America and the Caribbean. Mexico has the second-largest Catholic population of any country in the world, with 85 percent of its residents identifying themselves as practicing Catholicism (Catholic). One of the main beliefs of the Catholic faith is the sanctity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ.
In 1531 the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to a poor and humble Indian man named Juan Diego at Tepeyac Hill, northwest of what is now Mexico City. The “Lady from Heaven” (Our2) requested of Juan Diego one thing – to build a church on the ground where she appeared. She said to Juan Diego “"My dear little son, I love you. I desire you to know who I am. I am the ever-virgin Mary, Mother of the true God who gives life and maintains its existence. He created all things. He is in all places. He is Lord of Heaven and Earth. I desire a church in this place where your people may experience my compassion. All those who sincerely ask my help in their work and in their sorrows will know my Mother's Heart in this place. Here I will see their tears; I will console them and they will be at peace. So run now to Tenochtitlan and tell the Bishop all that you have seen and heard" (Our1)
Juan Diego immediately journeyed to the palace of the bishop to present the Lady’s request, but was unable to speak with him. Upon returning to the hill the next day, the Blessed Mother appeared again to Juan, and instructed him to return to the bishop. This time the bishop instructed Juan Diego...
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Catholicism glorifies and represents mothers as the main foundation of the family through the example of the passive and unconditional loving Mary, the mother of Jesus Crist. This idea of the mother as unconditional lover beings has been passed on and reproduced in the Chicana/o community. Gil Cuadros and Reyna Grande through their autobiographical work testify against this predominate idea of the mothers being caring and loving persons. Even though most mothers fall into the norm of a normal mother, normality is subjective, therefore Cuadros and Grande’s work represent the complexities of reality. Grande’s The Distance Between Us and Cuadro’s City of God are autobiographical narratives that incorporate reality as a form of testimonial of existence, an act of healing and resilience. Given that these author’s life experiences can be
Doña Guadalupe is a woman of great strength and power, power and strength which she draws from her devout faith and her deep and loving compassion for her family, and power and strength which is passed down to her children. “‘Well, then, come in,’ she said, deciding that she could be handle this innocent-girl-stealing coyote inside. On going into the long tent, Salvador felt like he’d entered the web of a spider, the old woman was eyeing him so deliberately” (360). Doña Guadalupe is a very protective woman, which is extremely speculative when it comes to her children, this is especially true when it comes to boys, because she has not gone this far only for all of her hard work to be ruined by a no good boy. This shows how protective she is, she loves her family, and especially her kids so much that they themselves must pass her test before being able to pass on to her children. “The newborns were moving, squirming, reaching out for life. It was truly a sign from God” (58). Doña Guadalupe is also a very devout and faithful person. She sees God in everything and in everyone and by that fact, what she sees and who she sees is true, and she tries to be a model of clairvoyance for the family. “Doña Guadalupe put the baby’s little feet in a bowel of warm water, and the child clinging to his mother. He never cried, listening to her heartbeat, the same music that he’d heard from inside the womb” (57). Finally, Doña Guadalupe is very passionate which allows for a great model upon which her children follow. This further shows how she is clearly th...
Even though Pepita was much more understanding and polite to her caretaker, the Marquesa did not give Pepita quality time. The only happiness the Marquesa could find satisfying was the love and kindness from her beloved daughter, Doña Clara. Eventually, the Marquesa learned of her biological daughter’s pregnancy. She subsequently went into a mode of superstition and “became a mine of medical knowledge and suggestion” (p. 31). For instance, she “refused to allow a knot in the house” and “the stairs even steps were marked with red chalk and a maid who accidentally stepped upon an even step was driven from the house with tears and screams.” (p. 31). The Marquesa even made a pilgrimage to the shrine of Santa María de Cluxambuqua, where “The ground had been holy through three religions” (p. 32). As Pepita and the Marquesa crossed the Bridge of San Luis Rey for their pilgrimage to Cluxambuqua, Marquesa’s focal point was her love for her daughter. The Marquesa made her way to the shrine as she left Pepita alone for their stay at the inn. Meanwhile, as Pepita was alone, she began to write a loving letter to her former and loyal
One of the most interesting aspects of Diaz’s narrative is towards the end when Cortés broaches the subject of Christianity with Montezuma. Conversion and missionary work was one of the most important and lasting goals of the conquistadors and other contemporary explorers, they were charged with this duty by the rulers who sent t...
...ligious life of the town of San Miguel and construction of its main temple which from 1872 he was raised to parish. But like everyone, this temple of the Holy Trinity underwent several transformations, for example: in the first decades of the 19th century was built the current altar; and from 1881 to 1897 he received major improvements, like the composure of the entire building, the purchase of pictures, furniture and several sacred ornaments as well as the construction of the chapels of the Tabernacle and Nuestra Señora de la Soledad and the arches of the entrance to the former chapel of the Entombment of Christ and the old sacristy; the most recent improvement was made in the last years of the 20th century, and which involved the National Institute of anthropology and history, the Government of the State and the father Carlos Cabrero, responsible for the parish.
9. Palmer, Colin A. Slaves of the White God: Blacks in Mexico, 1570-1650. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1976.
Yo picador, macho errado, macho galopeado, me con¬fieso a Dios bardadero y a soneta María tampoco, y al bien trobado san Miguelelajo y al bien trobado san Sán¬chez Batista, y a los sonetos apóstatas san Perro y san Palo, y a vos padre espertual, daca la culpa, toma la culpa. Vuélvome a confesiar a todos estos que quedan aquí de¬trás y a vos padre espertual, que estás en lugar de Dios, me deis pestilencia de mis pescados y sorbáis dellos, amén Jesús
It all began with a young hidalgo (a member of the minor nobility in Spain) falling in love with a beautiful but lowly girl, María. Some years ago, the young hidalgo fell in love with María. María had a casita--a little house--where the young hidalgo would visit and bring his friends. In almost every way, they shared a happy life together. Eventually, María bore him two or three children. Everything was well except that their marriage was not blessed by the church, as his parents knew nothing about the arrangement. When his parents found out about María, they would not allow him to marry her and would not accept her as his wife nor her children as their grandchildren. They went on and urged him to marry a more suitable lady to give them grandchildren; this "suitable lady" was also a member of the minor nobility in Spain, also very beautiful. At some point in time, he ga...
Secondly, another area that is highly influenced by American society is the religion of the Mexican Americans. Ninety percent of Spanish speaking people are Roman Catholic (C...
In 1777, El Pueblo de San Jose de Guadalupe, as San Jose in the present, was founded, which had opened a new history for California. It was the first civilian town of the Spanish colony in Alta California. Since everything had already settled down in the pueblo, the original church was started to construct based on the desire and yearning for a religious place of the civilians in the pueblo. In the 12th day of July 1803, the first St. Joseph Church was built on the corner of Market and San Fernando Street. A lots of hand of the civilians, from men, women to children, and even Indians, were given to construct the building because it was everyone’s religious hope. According to some readings, the material that was used to build this first church was brick, the adobe ones. It was covered with a thatched roof, and spectacularly, the windows were designed that they were narrow outside but wider inside. The first church was finished on March 19th, and
As every Spanish culture tells the story, Juan Diego was an Aztec who believed in Christianity. The Virgen Mary appeared to Juan Diego on December 9. Three days later, she reappeared again. Juan Diego had a very special request from the Virgen Mary; to build a shrine just were she had appeared (Tepeyac Hill). The Bishop wouldn’t approve until he had a sign from the Virgen Mary. The second time Virgen Mary had appeared to Juan Diego, she ordered him to collect roses. A dozen roses fell from Diego’s cloak in front of the bishop including more people, revealing a beautiful image of Virgen Mary. The Basilica of Guadalupe now holds this image.
Castillo first shows the reader her distrust of patriarchy and its vertical structures through La Loca Santa’s death. The first structure under scrutiny here is the Catholic Church. After La Loca awakens she throws herself into the air and lands on the top of the Church, saying that those below her carry the same scent that she had smelled while in hell. With Loca high above the others she can be seen as a “substation” for a new Chicana Christ figure (Delgadillo 895). She tells those gathered below that she has been sent back to pray for them so that they would be able to see their Creator in heaven. Father Jerome pleads with her to come down so that the congregation could pray for her. She then reminds him that it is she that was sent to pray for them. With La Loca in the position of a Christ figure of the system, the structure of the system, in this case religion,...
In 1531, ten years after the capture of Mexico City, a poor Indian named Juan Diego left his house to attend divine service in the beginning of December. On his way he passed the hill of Tepeyacac ("Hill of the Nose", in Nahuatl) and he heard beautiful music from the top of the hill. The music was heavenly; he heard the most beautiful songbirds singing soft and pleasant. He wondered if he was worthy of hearing such beautiful music, and if maybe it was a dream. He thought he might have died and gone to heaven. Over the sounds of birds Juan heard a voice from the hilltop; however, it did not frighten him. In fact he was strangely set at ease by the voice. He climbed the hill in search of the mysterious voice. When he reached the top of the hill he saw a magnificent woman who appeared to glow like nothing he had ever seen before. She radiated like the sun, and the stones that she was standing on were like gems beneath her feet. The foliage surrounding the magnificent woman was full of translucent colors that glimmered in the radiating light.
The first Catholic priests came to South America with the conquistadors and through social and political force superimposed 16th century Catholicism upon conquered peoples and in subsequent generations upon slaves arriving in the New World. Catholicism has, likewise, frequently absorbed, rather than confronted, popular folk religious beliefs. The resulting religion is often overtly Catholic but covertly pagan. Behind the Catholic facade, the foundations and building structure reflect varying folk religious traditions. (2)
Similarly to Kellogg, Conover argues against the apparition of the Virgin Mary as being the driving force that gave way to the Virgin’s rise to popularity and instead argues that it was a combination of many factors including practicality rather than “unique and mystical” appeal. (255). This debate has sparked a lot of controversy amongst historians and there has been a split between apparitionists and anti-apparitionists over The Virgin Mary’s rise to popularity. Historians seek to understand how the Virgin Mary became so prominent in the lives of so many people to a country once foreign to the idea of Christianity however; despite much speculation her influence in Mexico’s culture is irrefutable. In 2002 Pope John Paul II declared our lady of Guadalupe the patroness of the Americas and made Juan Diego the first official indigenous