Virgins in Mexico

We have now had 28 days without rain. The lake level has started to go down, about 8 cm. (about 3 inches) so far. Nevertheless, it was a good year for the lake. Also, there was much less lirios (water lily) infestation this year. Another good sign as the lirios bloom is based on water pollution (often fertilizer runoff).

In Mexico, the cult of the Virgin is really important. Fairly early in the Spanish colonial era, an appearance of the Virgin was proclaimed at Guadelupe and the Virgin of Guadelupe has been an object of veneration ever since. It is believed that for many of the Indian population, she became a substitute for an Aztec goddess. In fact, Catholicism was conflated with a great deal of Indian religious ideas and motifs. Later, the Inquisition was brought with full fury to try to stamp out this intrusion of ‘paganism’. Despite the tortures and executions, it was only partly successful and Catholicism here still has lots of pre-Christian elements. Some statues depict Guadelupe with a very dark skin. She became a virtual patron saint of Mexico. Father Hildago’s army fighting for independence from Spain carried banners dedicated to Guadelupe in the war for independence 1810-21.

However, there are a multitude of other ‘Virgins’ highly venerated; most of these are little statuettes, dolls really. Many have corn stalks or husks for the body and many are very old. However, they are beautifully dressed. In fact the Virgin of Zapopan seems to have a lot of gold (her halo and her cloak, for example). Here in Ajijic, there is the Virgin of the Rosary. No one knows how old she is. There is a definite reference to her in 1733, but many believe she is much older. Franciscan missionaries arrived here on Lake Chapala about 1530, only a few years after the Spanish conquest. Shortly after, they built a shrine to the Virgin and later a church here in Ajijic to the Virgin. The little chapel on the north side of the plaza replaced that building in the early 18th C. This little chapel is the home of ‘Rosario’. However, for most of October, she is in the parish church and subject to daily masses. On the last day of the month late in the afternoon, there is a big parade to take her from the church back to her normal ‘home’ in the chapel; there is music and celebrating all evening.

The Virgin of Zapopan (Zapopan is one of the 5 cities in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area ) is the most celebrated in this area. Her normal home is in the Basilica of Zapopan. There are a number of miracles attributed to her, including stopping at least one plague in the Guadalajara area. Every year in September and October she is taken on a peregrination to a number of churches in the region, including to Chapala during its festival honoring Saint Frances, Chapala’s patron saint. Last week, her annual visitation was brought to an end. After spending several days in the cathedral in Guadalajara, there was a hugh procession along the approximately 5 mile route to the Basilica. People gather along the route the night before and an estimated 1.5 million observe the procession, with floats and thousands of dancers, etc. Many people offer prayers and requests as she passes believing (or hoping at least) that she answers such requests.

A few years ago when the level of Lake Chapala had fallen very low and many thought there was a danger that it would dry up completely, special prayers were offered to Zapopan requesting that she save the lake. Now that it has recovered, many credit her. (Of course, the agreement by all the states that are part of the watershed to limit the amount of water used in irrigation is much more relevant.) As a result, she was given a new title, Queen of the Lake. This week she is being brought from Zapopan to Chapala for a parade and special service of thanksgiving for such a bountiful year for rain. With all these Virgins, this seems to me to be polytheistic, rather than monotheist, but that is true of all the saints in Catholicism which arose from the amalgamation with pre-Christian polytheistic religions during the Dark Ages in Europe.

Although Guadalajara is very cosmopolitan and a declining percentage of thre population are Catholic, the influence of the Church is stronger here in Jalisco State than in many other parts of Mexico. However, the archbishop of Guad., who is the highest Catholic prelate in Mexico, currently has 2 lawsuits against him: one for alleging that the Mayor of Mexico City had bribed the judges who had ruled that refusing to allow gays to marry was unconstitutional. (Many areas are in the jurisdiction of the states, and Mexico City has many more liberal laws, allowing gay marriage and abortion, to name a couple.) The second lawsuit was launched because of some strong, inflamatory antigay remarks the archbishop made while denouncing the idea that gays should be allowed to adopt children. The Governor of Jalisco, a member of the PAN party which has close ties to the Catholic Church, also has a lawsuit against him for his antigay comments. Who knows where these lawsuits will go, but they do show that the conservative influence of the Church is being challenged strongly, unlike the US where religious conservatism seems to be growing in influence.

Last week we took the 3 girls to Tobolandia. As usual, they had a great time and we had a fairly easy time sitting in the shade and watching them. They give swimming lessons there late Saturday afternoons, 4:30 - 6 p.m. We are planning to take them there this Saturday. It will be less nerve-wracking to take them next door to Steve’s pool if they can swim as it is over their heads everywhere.

Kate and Jack arrived on Wednesday night. They were very relieved and pleased to be here to recuperate. Jack is trying to fight off a case of pneumonia and Kate fell and sprained here ankle the day before they left Halifax.The weather is perfect. They are planning to stay for close to a year.