Our Lady of Guadalupe Is a Powerful Symbol of Mexican Identity
*According to the Catholic Church, the apparition happened 10 years after the Spanish conquest of Mexico was complete. So yes, Guadalupe is symbolic of the violent birth of a new people, of culture and politics. VL
By Raul A. Reyes, NBC News (8.5 minute read) 
Elena Rubio, a teacher in Brooklyn, New York, was five years old when she first heard the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
“It was on a family trip to Mexico,” she recalled. “Back then, I couldn’t figure out whether the Virgin Mary and this lady were the same person. Then my mom told me that Our Lady of Guadalupe had appeared in Mexico, and I was totally intrigued. I was fascinated, because it seemed to be a real thing, something with proof left behind.”
For Rubio and millions of other Mexicans and Mexican-Americans, December 12th holds special significance. It marks the date in 1531 when the Virgin Mary purportedly appeared to an indigenous Mexican, in the last of several apparitions.
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To the present day, Our Lady of Guadalupe remains a powerful symbol of Mexican identity and faith, and her image is associated with everything from motherhood to feminism to social justice.
[Screenshot of pilgrims at Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine in Des Plains, IL, courtesy of WGN]
