Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe

Last night fireworks went off all night and I thought it might be one of the many Synagogues near our home celebrating Hanukkah. Turns out, it was the celebration of "Dia de Guadalupe", who is Mexico's "Patron Saint". On this day thousands of faithful Catholics from around the country make a pilgrimage to the Basilica de Guadalupe, where it is believed she appeared to Juan Diego in a vision. Guadalupe is the Catholic icon of the virgin Mary, also known as Virgin de Guadalupe. According to the legend, Juan Diego, a simple indigenous peasant, saw a vision of a young girl surrounded by light on December 12, 1531. She asked him to build a church at the site in her honor. He immediately recognized her as the Virgin Mary and went to tell Bishop Fray Juan de Zumárraga, who asked for a sign. The virgin then told Diego to gather flowers (which were not in season and not indigenous,) which he did. She arranged them on his cloak, and when he presented the cloak to the Catholic Bishop, her image appeared on the cloak. This was taken as a sign, describing her image as containing a coded message for the "Aztec" people.

Since I was intrigued, we decided to go on another adventure. First we visited our temple in Mexico City, which is close by, after which we walked over to taste a bit of the Mexican culture. We found thousands finishing their pilgrimage to the Basilica, which was built in her honor. We also interviewed several people. Check them out on YouTube: click here and here and here.

This is where everyone was headed: The Basilica de Guadalupe Some were in costume, others dancing, some carrying her picture as an "offering"
One man we saw walked the entire distance on his knees. He was obviously in great pain.
Many vendors took advantage of the event by selling their wares.
and everywhere you turned, there was an altar to the Virgin.
Once again, a very interesting cultural experience - a very different experience from visiting the temple that morning.