Nearly five centuries after the apparition of the Virgin of
Guadalupe appeared to a Mexican peasant, her followers continue
making lengthy pilgrimages and reciting a special mass in her
honor. This Sunday, they will do the same at Mission San Juan
Bautista, with a sunrise mass, followed by a play that will reenact
the event which gave Mexico its patron saint.
San Juan Bautista – Nearly five centuries after the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe appeared to a Mexican peasant, her followers continue making lengthy pilgrimages and reciting a special mass in her honor. This Sunday, they will do the same at Mission San Juan Bautista, with a sunrise mass, followed by a play that will reenact the event which gave Mexico its patron saint.
For the 30th year in a row, parishioners and visitors will attend a celebratory mass, at which mañanitas, the traditional Mexican birthday song, will be sung. El DÃa de Guadalupe is always celebrated Dec. 12 and marks the birth of Guadalupe, the dark-skinned virgin who has become synonymous with Mexican identity and whose image can be seen on cars, shirts and even tattoos. About 400 people show up every year and tickets are already sold out for this Sunday’s event.
According to legend, Guadalupe made her first appearance in 1531 to a young Mexican peasant named Juan Diego in what is now Mexico City. Upon seeing the Virgin amidst the rocks, Juan Diego ran to tell the bishop what he saw, but the bishop did not believe him. The Virgin appeared again, this time telling the scared young man to pick flowers which grew on top of the hill. Juan Diego went, knowing there would be no flowers because it was the middle of winter. But when he got there, he was amazed to find the hill covered with beautiful flowers. He picked them and returned to the bishop who, upon seeing the flowers, realized that a miracle had occurred. A church was built on the spot and the day became a holiday in Mexico, prompting pilgrimages from all over the country to the sacred spot.
Today, the Guadalupaña is still an important event at the mission, but there was a time, back in the ’70s and ’80s, when every one stopped working, food was cooked all week long and young and old alike were entertained by mariachi bands and games. The picture of the Virgin was taken down and paraded throughout town to shouts and screams of the passersby.
Lupe Juarez is a former member of the Guadalupe Society, a group from the mission that was responsible for organizing the event.
“I remember they would kill three pigs and make carnitas and chicharrones,” she said. “It was a big feast rain or shine.”
Since the mission began the celebrations, crowds have flocked to the Guadalupaña, as the ceremony is called, from not only San Benito County, but as far away as San Francisco and Santa Rosa.
Pepe Espinosa, who was born and raised in San Juan Bautista and whose family belongs to the church, has similar memories. He danced with El Teatro Campesino, in the annual play, La Virgen del Tepeyac, named for the hillside where the Virgin first appeared, and recalls the gaiety of the celebrations that he said started weeks ahead.
“It was a happy and exciting time,” said Espinosa, who lives in the De Anza House in San Juan Bautista.
Although today’s celebrations are calmer, they are still popular and tickets regularly sell out. The day continues being an important part of the community’s identity, especially for its Latino population, which might be assimilated, but hasn’t forgotten its roots, said several San Juan Bautista residents.
Besides the holiday mass and play, menudo, a spicy tripe soup, is served alongside sweet Mexican bread and hot chocolate.
“It’s what people do in Mexico and when they come here they continue the tradition,” said Mary Vazquez Edge, an administrator at the mission office.
The Guadalupaña starts at 5:30am on Sunday at Mission San Juan Bautista.
Karina Ioffee covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at (831)637-5566 ext. 335 or [email protected]
