Just as our heads had begun to clear and trembling pets emerged from their hiding places under the bed after Ajijic’s noisy San Andrés fiestas, the daily roar of fireworks has started up again, this time blasting out at the west end of the village where the novenario honoring the Virgin of Guadalupe runs in full fury from December 4 through 12.

The same scenario is playing out in every other town along Lake Chapala’s shoreline and across the nation as the faithful manifest their fervent devotion to the nation’s most cherished religious figure.

Mexico City authorities expect around seven million pilgrims to appear at the Basilica where the original image of the beloved dark-skinned Virgin Mary is enshrined. Church services and festivities will mark the 485th anniversary of her apparition on the nearby Cerro de Tepeyac.

The cult of Guadalupe emerged just ten years after Spanish adventurers conquered the Aztec empire. It all began on December 9, 1531 at the outskirts of the recently founded capital of New Spain when a mysterious dark-skinned lady appeared in the path of the Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoaztin, an early native convert to the Christian faith. Speaking to the Indian in his native tongue, she identified herself as the mother of Jesus Christ and asked him to take a message to Bishop Juan de Zumarraga requesting that a church be built on that very spot.

He accomplished the mission on December 12 after following her instructions to climb Tepeyac and collect a bundle of roses for delivery to the Bishop as a sign. When he let the rare blossoms spill out from his crude cloth mantle at the Bishop’s feet, he revealed a splendid image of the swarthy Virgin emblazoned on the cloak. Now nearly five centuries old, that original Guadalupe portrait hangs as the centerpiece above the Basilica altar, practically untainted through the ages.

Although widely embraced as the holy Queen of Mexico and Patroness of the Americas, La Guadalupana represents more than a spiritual guardian.  She is an icon of national identity that is etched in the hearts and minds of many Mexicanos, transcending ethnic differences, socio-economic strata and territorial boundaries.

Images of Guadalupe are ensconced in Roman Catholic shrines all over the globe and nearly every Mexican household. Her familiar figure appears on murals that adorn the streets of inner-city Latino enclaves in the U.S., and as a decorative design for all sorts of consumer goods, including religious medallions, posters, decals, coffee mugs, key chains, clothing items and even body tattoos.

Lakeside families customarily honor Guadalupe by setting up artistically arranged doorstep shrines.  Chapala’s faithful will gather early December 12 for a nautical jaunt to Scorpion Island for a service at its small chapel. All towns hold colorful processions starting between 4 and 6 p.m. that feature adorable toddlers dressed in native Indian costumes, scenic floats, ritual dance troupes, marching bands, charro horsemen and the indispensable coheteros armed with huge bundles of sky rockets shot off to herald the pilgrims’ progress. Be prepared for neighborhood festivities going on into the wee hours as revelers indulge in food, drink, music and yup, fireworks galore.