A LONG-LIVED FASCINATION WITH MEXICO

III.  THE TRIP:  MONTERREY

Saturday dawned bright and beautiful. By 8:30, we had been served our breakfast; and, despite my father's entreaties, I had demolished a plate full of huevos rancheros in record time. Shortly thereafter, Jose arrived at the Ancira.  Despite the prospect of an exciting itinerary, which included visits to the Cuautemoc-Moctezuma Brewery and the Government Palace, I immediately let lose a volley of questions concerning the woman in the cloak. Thankfully, I was promised by Jose that he would satisfy my curiosity during the course of the day.

At that particular stage of my life, breweries had not yet captured my fancy.  Nevertheless, I did enjoy hearing how German immigrants had arrived at the end of the 19th century and how their presence had been crucial in establishing a thriving beer industry in Monterrey.

The government palace was indeed beautiful, bespeaking well of Nuevo Leon in an architectural style that I would later learn was French-classical.  Later, in taking my knowledge of Mexican history to another level, I would understand that more than a few Mexican political exiles in the mid-19th century passed their banishments in France, where they were imbued with appreciation for French culture, including French architecture, which they tended to copy after their return to Mexico.

Finally, after leaving the Government Palace, I was able to impress upon Jose my keenness to commence learning about the lady whose likenesses I had seen throughout Monterrey.  Thus began my introduction to the Virgin of Guadalupe.

Jose proved to be a patient teacher who enlightened me on the Spanish conquest, emphasizing how indigenous cultures and religions had been devastated by the Conquistadors.  With my father's approval, we stopped at one of Monterrey's beautiful parks and spent at least an hour and a half listening to Jose's interpretation of early colonial Mexican history.  I was especially intrigued by his ability to explain how Mesoamerican practices had been interwoven into the Mexican expression of Spanish Catholicism and had survived in a unique syncretic form of Christianity. Moving on, Jose next led me into a biblical description of the lady whose likeness had made such a decided impression on me.

Following up on my interest of the previous day, Jose had brought with him a Spanish Bible, within which he directed my attention to the Book of Revelation and a passage which described a young woman cloaked with stars, surrounded by the rays of the sun and standing on the moon.  This was the apocalyptic description of the Holy Mother, the Mother of Christ.

Although having a passing acquaintance with the Conquest, I was not totally familiar with its chronology.  With a quick rundown, Jose took me from the fall of Tenochtitlan in 1521 up to 1531, the traditional date of the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe.  He had my total attention, as he told the story of Juan Diego, an Indian peasant who had converted to Christianity, and how he had been passing Tepeyac Hill, outside the city now called Mexico, which had been erected on the ruins of Tenochtitlan.  Juan Diego, according to the story, had been on his way to mass, but heard a voice summoning him to the crest of the hill on a Saturday during the month of December.

Climbing the hill, Juan Diego encountered a beautiful young woman, before whom he bowed down in adoration.  Dressed in raiment such as that described in Revelation, the Virgin implored him to convey to Juan de Zumarraga, the Franciscan bishop of Mexico, her desire to have a chapel on the hill as a means of showing her love for her people.  Juan Diego did indeed manage to see the bishop but was turned away for having no visible proof of his story.

On the following day, Juan Diego was once again traveling in the vicinity of Tepeyac Hill, this time in search of a priest to administer last rites to his uncle.  Despite his best efforts to avoid the hill, he again heard the sweet, melodic voice of the Virgin, who told him that all would be well with his uncle and that she was not finished with the chore which she had commanded Juan Diego to undertake.

This time, the Virgin indicated that she would send Juan Diego to the bishop with a sign. Following her instructions, Juan Diego removed his "tilma," or cloak, within which the Virgin placed a bouquet of Castilian roses, a miracle in itself, as roses would not ordinarily be growing in such surroundings, especially in December.  For the second time, Juan Diego went before the bishop.  This time he unfolded his cloak and not only did the garment contain roses, but upon it there was emblazoned the image of the Virgin.  Significantly, the image presented was that of a Virgin with brown skin, very much like the complexions of the Indian populations of Mexico.

Subsequently, according to Jose, chapels were built on the hillside which came to be called Guadalupe.  The dark-skinned Virgin became the patroness of Mexico, and pilgrimages would be undertaken to honor her there, as the Virgin of Guadalupe would draw the dark-skinned masses of Mexico to a mass conversion to Catholicism.

TO BE CONTINUED