Walk Around SMA - Diá de La Virgen de Guadalupe

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This time of year there is always a celebration going on.  December starts with lots of fireworks and the Virgin of Guadalupe.  Juan Diego saw the vision of the Virgen of Guadalupe on December 9th, 1531 in Tepeyac which is now located on the outskirts of Mexico City.  Supposedly the Virgin identified herself and asked Juan Diego that a church be built on that site.  Juan Diego told the archbishop who did not believe him and asked for proof.  The following days he returned, the Virgin appeared and in Juan Diego's words, said to him, "Am I not here, I who am your mother?"

She then filled his cloak with roses, but not just any roses.  They were roses, they were Castillan roses not native to Mexico and couldn't have grown there on the hill in Tepeyac in the cold of winter.  Juan Diego returned to the archbishop.  When he opened the cloak, the roses fell to the ground and the picture of the virgin appeared on his cloak.

On the 12th I took off in search of celebrations here in SMA.  This is what I found on my three-hour walk around the city.   The first stop was a group of indigenous dancers.  With the sound of a drumbeat the dancer performed before the altar for an hour.  

There is an altar to the virgin in every Mexican market.  I wondered on down the road and came across a small market where I could hear mariachis.  Sure enough, they were playing, Las Mañanitas in front of the small altar of the virgin.  (Ignore the lady's head.  She refused to move out of the way).

I was told that over by the bus station there was an inauguration of a new street or street that has been turned into a plaza and walking street with no car traffic allowed.  I had my map in hand I was sure I knew where this event was being held.  They had been working on the street since we had arrived six weeks ago (can't believe I've been here this long).  I arrived just as the priest began to speak about the Virgin of Guadalupe and to say the mass. 

It was quite a long morning that ended with a stop at the butcher shop for some freshly ground beef.  I went home and prepared a flour tortilla with a bead of refried beans, sauteed ground beef and some grated cheese followed by fried egg on top.  It hit the spot before my nap.

Two things about this picture from the indigenous dances.  You can see how modern-day diet is destroying the Mexican people.  Second, the dancer in the middle danced for the complete hour with her cellphone in her hand.  My how times have changed.