Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe 3

From churches to museums to art galleries, it's difficult not to encounter Our Lady of Guadalupe. Including the Mexican flag, it is the most ionic image displayed in the most Catholic country.

This particular image of the Virgin immediately grabbed my attention due to the material from which it was constructed. The artist fashioned her image out of natural materials and gave her decidedly indigenous features. Most likely, this would have been how the Virgin appeared to Juan Diego in 1531 rather than more European as she is often depicted.

 

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When in DF, I spend most of my time walking the streets in one neighborhood or another. I'll use the metro to get me to the section of the city that interests me, but from there, it's all on foot. Check out this article about walking around this megacity.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2013/feb/08/walking-mexico-city-dbc-pierre

 

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Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe 2

Antigua Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe

Although many travel to the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe for religious reasons, the student of architecture and history will equally enjoy a pilgrimage to the holiest of sites in Mexico City. The new basilica, opened in 1987 with a capacity of nearly 40,000. However, the architectural treasure of La Villa de Guadalupe is by far the the Antigua Basílica built around 1700. In the alterpiece, you can see a marble statue of Juan Diego. As you approach the complex from the metro station, it is the old basilica that one first sees. This is the same sight that prilgrims would have experienced after their long journey.

 

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A little of everything is to be found in Mecico City. Check this out! A naked bicycle rally!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22831366

 

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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.

 

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