Religion >> Mexicans
To a large extent Mexicans in the United States have retained the religious traditions of their home countries; yet their unique brand of Catholicism has also taken on newer meanings specific to life across the border. There are also new practices, such as the Carrera Antorcha Guadalupana, a run from Mexico to New York in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Both in Mexico and in the United States, Our Lady of Guadalupe continues to be hugely important. She has unified Mexicans throughout much of post-Colonial Mexican history, and unifies Mexicans today, beyond the geographical borders of Mexico.
Religion There
The Virgin of Guadalupe Appears
Our Lady of Guadalupe: A Mexican National Symbol
The Festival of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Day of the Dead
Holy Week and the Way of the Cross
Religion Here
Via Crucis in the US
Day of the Dead in the US
Guadalupe across the Border
Tepeyac and the Guadalupano Committees
Carrera Antorcha Guadalupana
Religion There: Religion in Mexico
| The Virgin of Guadalupe Appears | ||
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Oil painting by Miguel Cabrera |
The apparition of the Virgin de Guadalupe began on a Saturday in December of 1531. A poor Indian by the name of Juan Diego was walking toward the city and heard music nearby. He was curious and started to look around, when he came upon a young woman who tells him that she is the Virgin Mary, the mother of the true God, and commanded him to go tell the bishop of Mexico to build a chapel at Tepeyac in her honor. | |
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Juan Diego and the Bishop - statues at the Old Basilica in Mexico city |
On Tuesday, Juan went to a local priest for his uncle, and he was once again called by the Virgin, who told him to go to the hill of Tepeyac to pick up some flowers and carry them to the bishop, Zumárraga. As Juan dropped the flowers, the bishop saw that the image of the Virgin was painted mysteriously on Juan's cape. (www.virgendeguadalupe.org.mx) TOP OF PAGE |
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| Our Lady of Guadalupe: A Mexican National Symbol | ||
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(replica image of the Our Lady of Guadalupe image at the Basilica named after her) |
Many historians consider the apparition of Guadalupe to be the moment when "Catholicism was no longer a foreign religion," but instead "belonged to all Mexicans." (Beatty 2006:326) Our Lady of Guadalupe stands at the center of Mexican Catholicism and came "to play a key role in the life of the nation, especially at moments of crisis." (Beatty 2006:326) |
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Hidalgo, who paved the way for Mexican independence from Spain in 1810, "did so under the banner of Guadalupe." (Beatty 2006:326) In the Mexican Revolution, which began in 1910, "Zapata's revolutionaries rode into battle wearing Guadalupe medals on their hats." (Beatty 2006:326) TOP OF PAGE |
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| The Festival of Our Lady of Guadalupe | ||
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"In celebrating the fiesta for the Virgin of Guadalupe, non-Indians in Mexico recognize their country's indigenous origins, while the Indians reaffirm their sense of identity with the nation's European heritage." (Friedlander 2006:100) The Festival is celebrated on December 12th, the day of the Virgin's apparition to Juan Diego. Little children traditionally dress up as Indians in memory of Juan Diego. (Friedlander 2006:100) |
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Villagers also often perform plays such as "The Moors and the Christians" (Los Moros y Cristianos). (Friedlander 2006:101) In many towns, there is a mayordomo (the sponsor of a celebration in the town) who is in charge of overseeing the festivities. (Friedlander 2006:109) TOP OF PAGE |
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On the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexicans traditionally sing Las Mañanitas, a birthday song, in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The following are the the most common verses of Las Mañanitas (not all of them are always sung).
| Las Mañanitas | |
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These are the morning verses Chorus Awaken, my dear, awaken, |
Éstas son las mañanitas Coro Despierta, mi bien, despierta, |
| Day of the Dead | ||||
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More commonly known as Día de los Muertos, this is a holiday in which Mexicans remember their dead relatives by placing altars in their homes with the deceased's favorite foods and flowers. On this day, they also visit their relatives' graves and bring flowers and candles to decorate the tombstones. Day of the Dead occurs on All Saints Day and is celebrated over a two-day period. November 1st is reserved for children who have died, and November 2nd is for adults who have passed away. TOP OF PAGE | |||
| Holy Week and the Way of the Cross | ||||
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Holy week is the last week of Lent. It is a time of penance in which Mexican Catholics commemorate the last week of Christ’s life on Earth and his crucifixion. During Holy Week, Mexicans in communities all throughout Mexico celebrate the Way of the Cross. The Way of the Cross (Via Crucis) is the reenactment of Christ’s suffering, betrayal, and crucifixion. | |||
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Stations of the Via Crucis |
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| Religion Here: Mexican Catholicism in the United States |
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| As Mexicans have emigrated in greater numbers to the United States, Mexican Catholicism has been transplanted to American soil. Many of the same practices and festivities celebrated in Mexico are also celebrated in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and other American cities and regions. These festivities have taken on new and broadened meanings in the urban setting of Mexican neighborhoods in the United States. There are also new practices, like the Antorcha run from Mexico City to New York in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. TOP OF PAGE | ||||
| Via Crucis in the US | ||||
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The Way of the Cross in American cities can serve important functions for Mexican immigrant communities. For instance, during these processions, residents in Pilsen, Chicago “forge a relationship as a community, speak in a nearly unified voice against forms of oppression, and transcend space and time from Mexico to Jerusalem, Mexico to the United States, Chicago to Calvary.” (Matovina and Riebe-Estrella 2002:48) |
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| Via Crucis through the streets of Pilsen symbolically connects “the suffering of Jesus and his mother to contemporary social ills like overcrowded housing, gang violence, city neglect of public schools, absentee landlords, crowded schools, and drug addiction…” (Matovina and Riebe-Estrella 2002:10) TOP OF PAGE |
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The significance of El dia de los Muertos has also broadened in the United States, as it is now a reminder not only of departed loved ones, but also specifically of those who have died while attempting to cross the border. (Rivera-Sánchez 2004:439-440) |
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But the same or similar practices are performed on this day in the United States as in Mexico. The ofrendas (altars for the dead) contain photographs of the deceased, pan de muertos (sweet bread shaped into skulls), papel picado (tissue paper), calavera masks (skull masks), marigolds, and the "Book of Names," the names of those who have passed away, all still exist. (Matovina and Riebe-Estrella 2002:69) TOP OF PAGE |
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| Guadalupe across the Border | ||||
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A “deterritorialized symbol of Mexican-ness” (Rivera-Sánchez 2004:442), the Virgin of Guadalupe serves to unite Mexicans across the border. Guadalupe celebrations help free Mexicans from the sense of being strangers in the United States. |
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Though perhaps thousands of miles away from their homeland, Mexicans in the United States feel united to their countrymen in Mexico through the Virgin of Guadalupe, the "mother of all Mexicans". TOP OF PAGE |
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| Tepeyac and the Guadalupano Committees | ||||
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The Guadalupano committees began forming in 1983 in New York to give Mexicans a religious home, as “newer arrivals are not always welcome in community churches and are made to feel like outsiders in their own neighborhoods.” (Rivera-Sánchez 2004:422) |
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In church communities comprising different Latino ethnicities, tension can arise between them as they work to incorporate their unique religious traditions into their churches. | |||
| “Father Robert” in the Bronx acknowledged: “So when they ask me to bring the Virgin of Guadalupe into the church, how could I deny them? And when they ask to see her closer to the Christ on the cross at the front of the church, I couldn’t say no. The prominence of our devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe had created some uneasy feelings among the Dominicans, who venerate the Virgin of Alta Gracia and Divine Providencia, and the Puerto Ricans, who venerate Nuestra Señora de Lujan. But everyone is welcome here and the Mexicans are now the lifeblood of this parish and I want them to feel that this is their house.” (Hellman 2008:165) TOP OF PAGE |
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Initially the Guadalupano Committees' focus was prayer and conversion. For example, one of the Guadalupano committees’ activities was “visiting all homes in their neighborhood with Mexican immigrants in the household and encouraging them to join their group and regain their closeness to the Church.” (Rivera-Sánchez 2004:433-34) | |||
| At the same time, the members carry a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe through the neighborhood and pray a rosary to her at each stop. | ||||
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During its formation Asociación Tepeyac used the Guadalupano Committees as its base groups. Tepeyac is a non-profit network whose mission is "to promote the social welfare and human rights of Latino immigrants, specifically the undocumented in New York City." (Asociación Tepeyac de New York 2007) | |||
| With the help of Tepeyac, “By linking faith with justice, the committees’ focus changed from primarily prayer and conversion to embrace a concern with broader social issues as well.” (Rivera-Sánchez 2004:428) TOP OF PAGE | ||||
| Carrera Antorcha Guadalupana | ||||
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Every year Tepeyac organizes a run from Mexico City to New York on the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The runners carry torches symbolizing a vital Mexican faith uniting Mexicans across the border. (www.tepeyac.org) |
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