Friday, June 7, 2013

Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe


 

Outside the Mexican flag, the most pervasive image found across all of Mexico has to be that of the Virgin Mary or Our Lady of Guadalupe. On my first ever visit across town to the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, I came across this image of the Virgin in a lovely baroque structure on the back side of the grounds called the Templo del Pocito. As the story goes, it was on the site where the old basilica was built that Juan Diego first saw the Virgin in 1531. After three subsequent visits by the Virgin, the church finally accepted Juan Diego's accounts. In the mid-18th century, the Virgin was officially declared the patron of Mexico. In the weeks to come, I'll add other images of the Virgin that I have found in my travels around the city.