While the rest of the country celebrates Dia de la Raza (Columbus Day) on Wednesday, October 12, in Guadalajara the Italian sailor who stumbled across a continent and its people 519 years ago gets trumped by a diminutive miracle worker.
In the Romeria – Latin America’s largest religious procession – the Virgin of Zapopan, a tiny cornhusk statue of the Virgin Mary, is preceded by hundreds of groups, including charros, honor guards from numerous Roman Catholic organizations, Indian dancers in native costume, choirs and marching bands, who will lead the statue with dance and music to its ancestral home in the Basilica of Zapopan.
The procession
The Virgin is dressed in a regal gown, placed on a flower-laden float, and at 6 a.m. begins her journey from the Guadalajara Cathedral down Avenida Alcalde and Avenida Avila Camacho, which leads into downtown Zapopan. At about 10 a.m. the archbishop of Guadalajara presides over a solemn mass in the Basilica, and the dancers gyrate in the huge Plaza Juan Pablo II for several hours thereafter.
Vantage points along the route, especially those in the center of Guadalajara and Zapopan, start filling up in the wee hours of the morning. But if you want a good night’s sleep, we recommend you pick a spot somewhere on Avila Camacho between La Normal traffic circle and Plaza Patria, making sure to arrive by about 6 a.m.
Early history
There are several accounts of the Virgin’s early history and one of the most repeated sets the date of her creation as far back as the 16th century. In 1540, having suffered countless acts of brutality, the Caxcane people of (present day) northern Jalisco launched a bloody revolt against the colonial government of New Spain. The ensuing conflict, known as the Mixton War, was one of the earliest indigenous-based rebellions that helped forge the mestizo Mexico of today. According to legend, a Franciscan friar brought the Virgin to the Caxcane encampment in 1541. One night, she gave off a miraculous glow that inspired the indigenous warriors to lay down their weapons and sign a truce with the Spanish viceroy. Whether this story is true or not, what devotees do firmly believe is that she performs miracles and answers prayers. Miracles attributed to her over the years have included saving Guadalajara from the plague and impending earthquakes, as well as restoring Lake Chapala to health in times of drought.
Doing the rounds
Before October 11, Guadalajara residents who hear what sounds like a parade approaching their neighborhood Catholic church may have been getting a taste of the annual religious procession.
In the weeks preceding the big date, the Virgin makes her way in a cavalcade from one church to another. She stays at these churches for a day or so of devotion, music, food and even carnival rides, before being swept off to another location.
The Virgin’s visit temporarily transforms the neighborhood churches into hubs of activity that feature mariachi music and rows of sidewalk stalls selling traditional delicacies. With the food booths open after dark and the general ramping up of festivities, quiet neighborhoods may be briefly transformed into fun magnets with schoolchildren, nuns, families attending and bystanders swilling a libation or two.
Worth the effort
Many devout Catholics will stay up all night for a good view of the procession as it crawls up to the Zapopan Basilica this coming Wednesday. Many will weep, pray and ask the virgin for favors as she passes by. For some, the thought of dragging themselves out of bed at such an unearthly hour is far too intimidating, but for those who do make the effort, the rewards are great.