So after visiting the Templo Mayor (Great Temple) by the Cathedral of Mexico City, Michael and I decided to meander over to Mexico's most famous religious site: The Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe. For those of you who are not familiar with the story, here is a quick, abridged version. In 1531, an Indian convert named Juan Diego was walking to Mass across Tepeyac Hill in what is now Mexico City proper. Suddenly, a beautiful dark-skinned (i.e. indigenous looking) female appeared before him and declared she was the Mother of Jesus Christ. The Virgin then explained to Juan Diego that she wanted a church built on this hill and instructed him to find the Bishop and tell him her desires. When the Bishop finally granted Juan Diego an audience, he did not believe the humble Indian man and demanded proof of said vision. Juan Diego, fearful of what he had seen, avoided the hill for days so as not to see the woman, but on his way to find a priest for a seriously ill man, the Virgin appeared to him once more and he told her what the Bishop had said. In response, the Virgin instructed Juan Diego to pick the roses that would be on Tepeyac Hill (normally a desolate, desert hill) and to give them to the Bishop as proof of her appearance.
Juan Diego obeyed and gathered in his mantle the roses that miraculously appeared on the desert hill and returned to the Bishop's office to give him the flowers. When the Bishop once again granted Juan Diego an audience, Juan let the flowers fall from his mantle and there on his clothing appeared an image of the brown-skinned Virgin, proof positive that Juan had witnessed a miracle. The bishop then immediately ordered the construction of a church on the hill where the miracle took place as the Virgin of Guadalupe had instructed. About a century or two later, the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe was built in front of Tepeyac Hill and in the 20th century, a new Basilica was built alongside the old and now houses the original mantle of Juan Diego. Today, the Church ontop of Tepeyac Hill looks nothing like the desolate hill of our story, but rather a bonafide Garden of Eden in the center of Mexico City.
The Old and New Basilica (pictured below) are equally beautiful and in the modern one, the mantle of Juan Diego hangs behind the altar. One helpful tip: There is mass just about every hour in the New Basilica with the mantle as the main attraction. You can get close to the relic by going to the right of the altar and down below, there is a people-mover that will allow you to see the mantle up close without disturbing the Mass going on above.
After our adventure greeting the most famous relic of Mexico, Michael and I spent the rest of the evening with one of the girls in the study abroad group who had been visiting the city with her parents. Unfortunately, Michael had to return to the States and I continued my Spring Break with my friend Katie (I know, two Katies). The following day, Katie and I went to the Palacio Nacional where some of the most famous murals of Diego Rivera (the husband of Frida Kahlo) are housed. I have to say that although Diego Rivera isn't my favorite Mexican artist of all time, the sheer size, magnitude, and detail of his murals astounded me and I have a new found respect for his life's work. The following link will give you some examples of his work and if you're interested in seeing more, just google his name.
http://diegorivera.com/murals/index.php
Afterwards, we headed back to the Anthropology Museum to finish the short tour we had the month before with our Mexican Culture professor Maria Elena. Obviously, I won't go through what I've seen again because that simply will be quite boring. That being said, I will leave you with one more picture from Chapultepec Park, the Central Park of Mexico City. In the meantime, I will organize my photos for the final part of Semana Santa: Chiapas.
Kaitie
No comments:
Post a Comment