La Virgen de Zapopan, Jalisco’s number one religious patroness, will blow into Chapala on July 8 for an annual visit that invariably falls on the second Sunday of the month, just as the rainy season comes into full force.

The diminutive icon representing Our Lady of the Expectation will be accompanied by a huge entourage of adoring pilgrims who trust her as an intermediary for divine protection against strife, disease and pestilence, deadly storms and natural disasters.

Folks who are new to the lakeshore region or have never experienced the splendorous pageantry of this humongous spiritual celebration owe themselves at least a one-time look. You’ll be astonished by the sheer number of devotees who lead the way as the Zapopana rolls along the main drag aboard an elaborately adorned float, starting off near the north end of the Pemex station around 11 a.m.

There will be groups of bikers dressed in leathers, cyclists in snug sportswear, multiple troupes of ritual dancers donning colorful native costumes, tidily uniformed platoons from the Virgin’s honor guard, mixed in with drum and bugle corps, marching bands and all of the town’s mariachi musicians playing in unison. The Virgin herself will be decked out in regal finery and ensconced in a form-fitting protective crystal case.   

At the end of the route a crush of people will take part in a gala Mass at noon, officiated by Cardinal José Francisco Robles, the archbishop of Guadalajara, and a bevy of auxiliary priests. Immediately after the service, the revered image will be carted out for a stroll along the Malecón and out to the end of the town pier for a traditional blessing over Lake Chapala. The devout will cluster as she passes by, wiggling in to briefly touch the glass enclosure and connect with her mystical powers.

It will all be noisy and chaotic for first-timers, but worth it for an insight into the depth of faith engendered by the tiny statue standing just 34 centimeters from head to foot.

Over nearly five centuries, the Virgin has accrued multiple honorary titles for favors granted to the people of this state. The latest one is Reina del Lago (Queen of the Lake), bestowed in a coronation ceremony held here in 2009 when she received a golden crown twice the size of her dainty head.

That’s a hint of why lakeshore inhabitants have a particular bond of devotion with the little lady. She is credited with propitiating relief from two periods of terrible drought that put the lake on the brink of extinction, first in the mid-1950’s and again during the last decade of the century through 2003.

While visitors from the metro area will join on Sunday to raise prayers for a beneficial rainy season, the locals will truly manifest faith in their spiritual queen on the following day. From 8 a.m. they will swarm at the waterfront to follow her on a nautical pilgrimage to Scorpion Island. Tourist launch operators kick in with free passage on their boats and fisherman provide a complementary fish fry comida to one and all after Mass at the island chapel. It’s a great adventure and opportunity to link into the heartbeat of the populace.