With faith and hope instilled in their hearts, the people of Chapala anxiously await the arrival of the Virgin of Zapopan on Sunday, July 14, when they will raise prayers for divine intercession to bring a beneficial rainy season for drought-stricken Lake Chapala.
They are counting on the blessed icon to propitiate a repeat of the miraculous recuperation of the lake that occurred 69 years ago during its worst crisis on record. Back then, Guadalajara Archbishop José Garibi Rivera pledged to carry the statue of the Virgin in a solemn procession to Chapala if the lake’s severely diminished waters rose up again as far as the waterfront docks. After nature achieved the extraordinary objective, the Archbishop kept his promise, leading a religious celebration on December 19, 1955 that remains engraved in the collective memory of local families to this day.
La Zapopana has been revered as a spiritual symbol for faithful lakeshore inhabitants ever since. She is credited with channeling a second resuscitation of the lake during the drought years at the turn of this century. As a sign of gratitude, she was crowned Queen of Lake Chapala in 2009.
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