Perhaps the most powerful symbol of the counter-conquest that we Mexicans have is the Virgin of Guadalupe. It is not just anything that has a niche in Notre Dame. To understand this we only have to remember that our Virgin has two names: Guadalupe-Tonantzin. The first, of Spanish origin, is due to a river in Extremadura that bears the same name. This is no coincidence because the first sanctuary dedicated to the Morena, located in Extremadura, was the Sanctuary of Guadalupe which was built in the 14th century. The second name refers, as Bernardo Barranco tells us, to “the mother goddess of nature and death, she was the mother of the gods and a very respected figure of devotion in the Mesoamerican sphere.”
And the reason why the Dark-skinned Virgin had to be baptized with this second name was because the original peoples of America did not feel that they identified with her. This is how they ended up consecrating this symbol with a name that is familiar to them. Gloria Anzaldúa sums it up clearly. “Today the Virgin of Guadalupe is the most powerful and unique Chicano/Mexican religious, political and cultural image. She, like my race is the synthesis of the old and the new world.”
The above quote also reminds us that the Virgin remains current thanks to the Mexicans on the Other side, because they, like the first mestizos, adopt an alien culture to adapt to. It is also valid to remember that Hidalgo used the image of Guadalupe as a flag, because he was aware of the need to carry a symbol that would summon the people to rise up in arms in the face of the injustices they experienced. Therefore, Gonzalo Rocha is not wrong when he says “three are the iconic images that inhabit the subconscious of every Mexican,” referring to the eagle and the serpent, Guadalupe and “the Catrina.”
And if we talk about images it is impossible not to mention the following. When we think of language in general we associate it with words, however, images are also a form of language. “Guadalupe had not only taken on the colors and dress of the Indians, but also their way of communicating, through images and elements of nature,” says Ignacio Luis de Valderas. Let’s remember that at that time the native peoples could not communicate in Spanish, therefore, the way they assimilated Catholicism was through images. And this is how an image created as a device of subjugation by Spain, produces the opposite effect. The Virgin of Guadalupe became a portal of identity.
Once the Morena is established and assimilated in Mexico, its convening power surpasses any religious symbol in the West. A government report last year informed that between December 9 and 12, 11 million people visited the Basilica of Guadalupe, and in 2022 the record was broken with 12 million 500 thousand visitors.
In addition to this, it is important to mention that the Virgin has also been seen as a feminist symbol of the colonial era, it is no coincidence that she appears in the Women’s Museum. That it is its first piece. “The religious culture perpetuated the patriarchal society, in which the social function of women was limited to reproduction. During the 300 years of colonial life, Marianism, or imitation of the Virgin Mary, was the model for women to follow. For them there was no middle ground, their conduct could only fluctuate between abnegation and sin.” Despite this lack of middle ground, women before Mary were not represented within the religion, thus causing an almost automatic self-denial.
Thanks, in part to the Virgin, someone like Sister Juana could exist. A woman who did not want to determine her life around motherhood, but instead chose the convent to continue developing her mind. And although it was not an easy task for her, she single-handedly and uniquely challenged the patriarchy throughout her life.
As we have seen Guadalupe has made us make a pilgrimage through many themes, although she was conceived in religion, she was always a symbol that belonged more to the people. Her power lies in the fact that Guadalupe-Tonantzin has been claimed for very constant social causes: women, migrants and the conquered who reconquered Spain. She has taught us that “symbols are neither created nor destroyed, only transformed.”
Original text by Carolina Aranda Cruz published in La Jornada on December 12, 2024.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.