Loving La Virgen de Gudalupe

You have to love La Virgen de la Guadalupe — even if you’re not Catholic. She’s a singular, ubiquitous and unifying image for all Latinos that I know, and while everyone feels slightly differently about her, I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like her or appreciate her image. And on today, her day, I thought I’d share some thoughts about her.

I grew up surrounded with images of La Virgencita:  On candles, pictures, business cards, spoken expressions, nail clippers, small mirrors, crosses, pretty much anything available for reproduction comes with a Virgen design. And I’ve come to associate that image with safety, home and affection.

I once gave a Virgen card to a Jewish friend of mine, she asked me if she could take it, and I replied, “Girl, of course you can! The Virgen belongs to everybody!” I said it and I meant it. I often buy the Virgen de Guadalupe veladoras, those big giant candles in the glass jars, and burn them when I need comfort; this week it was because of the passing of my good friend Carlos Guerra. There have been times, however, when all I could find were two-sided candles with the Guadalupe and the Virgen de San Juan — two virgens are better than one, I’d say — but I’d always put the Guadalupe side facing outward.

You don’t have to be remotely religious to appreciate the Guadalupe, and that’s because her image is so iconic that everyone has come to inject their own meaning into her. Some people see the mother of God, others see a reminder of their ethnicity, and still others may see a miracle or their mother’s or grandmother’s memory. That, to me, is the true miracle of La Virgen (although that whole Juan Diego thing is pretty cool, too, if you can ever make it to the Basilica in Mexico City, seeing the original is totally worth the trip).

So, in that vein, happy Virgen day everybody! Please feel free to share your thoughts and memories of La Virgen with us here at NewsTaco.