Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe

http://glasspondstudio.blogspot.mx/2008/12/guadalupe-feast-photos.html

I hope the link will work for you when you click on it. If not, try and go back to the December 12, 2008, post. This particular day of celebration, in December of 2008, came on the heels of Hurricane Norbert and many festivities were canceled or minimized. But this is a religious celebration that could not be diminished, even after the deaths and destruction Norbert left behind.

The reason I am sharing this with you is today is the celebration of Our Virgen de Guadalupe. It is one of the biggest religious celebrations in Mexico. It is a very big celebration here in Alamos. The fireworks have been going off slowly for a few days, but there were some terrifically loud ones last night over Loma Guadalupe Hill. They lit the sky with their powerful orange sparks.


Here is a brief history.  Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Virgin Mary.
 According to the Catholic religion, on the morning of December 9, 1531, the Saint Juan Diego saw an apparition of a maiden on the Hill of Tepeyac in the village of Guadalupe. The apparition spoke to Juan Diego in her native Nahuatahl language, and asked that a church be built at that site in her honor.  Juan Diego recognized the maiden as the Virgin Mary. He then recounted the events to the Archbishop of Mexico City who told Diego to return to Tepeyac Hill. He was to ask the maiden for a sign to prove her identity. The first sign was the Virgin healing Juan's uncle. The Virgin then told Juan Diego to gather flowers from the top of Tepeyac Hill, where he found Castilian roses, not native to Mexico, blooming in December on the normally barren hilltop. The Virgin arranged the flowers in his tilma or cloak, and when Juan Diego opened his cloak before the Archbishop on December 12, the flowers fell to the floor, and on the fabric was the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Senor and I have been honored to attend a number of celebrations on this day in the past. We have been to a ranch where the Priest blessed the animals. We have been to homes where the Priest blessed the household.

The post I am including is one of the most memorable that we were invited to. Our invitation, to a former Mayor's celebration on the outskirts of town, was extended to us by Louisa and Teresa, whom I had been working with at DIF, in the aftermath of Hurricane Norbert.

The fireworks at the Mayor's ranch were something we will most likely not see again because this kind of invitation only happens once in a lifetime, I think.
 The burning castille, the fireworks zipline, the Mayo deer dance, the entertainment and food were all spectacular.
I hope you'll enjoy reading this again, or for the first time, as much as we enjoy our memories.
Feliz Dia de Virgen de Guadalupe!
Linda Lou