For nearly five centuries, believers in the Virgin of Guadalupe have celebrated the anniversary of her appearance before a poor Indian on Dec. 12, 1531.
As thousands of Catholics in Southern California celebrate her feast day today, the Virgin is more likely to be seen on water bottles, belt buckles and prepaid phone cards.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Tuesday December 14, 2004 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 38 words Type of Material: Correction
Virgin of Guadalupe -- An article in Sunday's California section about the Virgin of Guadalupe described her as posed with open arms. She is traditionally posed in prayer with her hands together at the level of her heart.
A beacon of hope for the downtrodden, a legendary figure who has long bonded Mexicans to the Catholic Church, the patron saint of Mexico and the Americas has also emerged in the last decade as a lucrative pop culture icon, much like Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara -- and even Mickey Mouse.
Her image adorns blankets made in China that sell for $30 in Santa Ana markets. Guadalupe belt buckles go for $250 in Sherman Oaks' Belle Gray boutique.
The brown-skinned beauty -- traditionally shown with open arms and a flowing, colorful robe -- is no longer strictly a religious figure, some say.
The Virgin "has stepped off the altar, outside the confines of the church. She is a transcultural goddess," said Jacqueline Orsini Dunnington, author of the new book "Celebrating Guadalupe."
But the Virgin's popularity in nonspiritual settings has rankled some devout Catholics, who say her adoration should not be sullied by commercialism.
"The symbol should come with Catholic values. When it doesn't, we are being taken advantage of," said Father Jose Luis Morras-Etayo of Our Lady of Guadalupe Sanctuary in Los Angeles -- one of 10 parishes in the archdiocese bearing her name.
For Latinos who identify with her, the Virgin of Guadalupe -- a New World manifestation of the Virgin Mary -- is more than a religious symbol, said Nancy Pineda-Madrid, an assistant professor of religious studies at St. Mary's College in Moraga. At the time of her appearance, Europeans were colonizing Mexico and oppressing its indigenous people.
"She stands for the inception of the Mexican nation, the emergence of the mestizo people," she said.
Much of Mexico's history is wrapped in her image.
According to believers, the Virgin first appeared to Juan Diego on Dec. 9, 1531, on a rocky hill outside Mexico City. Speaking to Diego in his native Nahuatl language, she asked him to go to the bishop and have him build a church. When he told the bishop of the apparition, the cleric didn't believe the story.
When the Virgin appeared to Diego on Dec. 12, she gave him roses to take as evidence. In front of the bishop, Diego opened his cloak to find her image on it.
