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The
Catholic faith that the conquistadors brought to
Mexican shores in 1519 was imbued with nationalistic
fervor of medieval Spain. In essence, the Spanish
conquest of 1519-1521 destroyed the core of Aztec
religion and discredited it by 1531. La Virgen's
story actually begins with the destruction of indigenous
temples, forced native conversions, and mass baptisms.
A scant ten years after the fall of the Aztec nation,
a humble Indian named Juan Diego is said to have
been confronted by La Virgen's apparition. This
miraculous event helped the people, otherwise oppressed
by colonizers embrace La Virgen, which many believed
helped overcome floods and pestilence with personal
prayers. These indigenous natives had been spiritual
orphans and embraced La Virgen as a foster-mother.
Although
La Virgen's image was supposed to have appeared
in 1531, the first recorded mentions of it don't
appear until 1555. Many believe that the image was,
however, very helpful in the conversion of the Aztecs
of the region. Another popular argument against
La Virgen is "La Virgen's" name itself. Why should
the Virgin Mary appearing to an Indian in recently
conquered Mexico and speaking to him in Nahuatl
call herself "de Guadalupe", a Spanish name? Well,
it is believed that the name came about because
of the translation from Nahuatl to Spanish. It is
believed that La Virgen used the Aztec Nahuatl word
of coatlaxopeuh (pronounced quatlasupe). Coatlaxopeuh
sounds remarkably like the Spanish word Guadalupe
which means "(one) who crushes the serpent." The
Aztec Serpent-god is Quetzalcoatl, and the belief
in him was certainly evemtually crushed. A few years
later millions of the natives were converted to
Christianity. Yet, it is interesting to note that
in the Old Testament (Genesis 3:15) it is indicated
that a woman would step on the serpent's head.
Despite
all of the controversy La Virgin de Guadalupe became
the symbolic mother of Mexicans everywhere; through
identity, history, and culture. Through her image
a conquered nation was able to find comfort, narrative,
and a connection to their own Nahuatl (Aztec/Mexica)
deities. Even the color of La Virgen's dress is
a color, red, with symbolic "meaning and writings"
that tell a story to the Nahuatl people. And the
belt worn by La Virgen is a maternity band, explaining
expectant birth or new expectations that gave hope
and provided a symbolic new beginning. Today, across
the country, the shrines to La Virgen de Guadalupe
are numberless. Her images smile behind glass, gleam
on metal, hang in cars, and are carved into just
about everything. Every city in Mexico has a church
consecrated to her name.
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