The Lady of Guadalupe is
considered cultural phenomenon. I have seen this image. It has been imitated in
diverse formats including tattoos, sculptures, t-shirts, and coke bottle tops
from El Paso to Sheboygan. But I have seen the real thing; It hangs almost 500
years after it was, dare I say created, by an artist "yet to be
determined. "Unlike the Lady of Jasna Gora, in Poland, also a
"cultural" icon, the image is one wherein paint strokes could not be
detected by even the most advanced scientific techniques. This image has
outlasted the ravages of the second law of thermodynamics: entropy. Jasna Gora
is painted upon survivable material. The Lady of Guadalupe is imposed upon
material that should have deteriorated at the most in 40 years. Yet it still
exists almost 500 years after its debut.
According to reports by NASA
studies, the colors are actually floating a hundredth of an inch above the
ayate fabric. Ayate is a cactus fiber used by indigenous tribes in Mesoamerica
for multiple uses but primarily to act as both an insulator for the cold December
mornings and also as a means to transport produce and items purchased while
trekking to and from the market place to the remote regions and villages.
Consider that a dark skinned lady
appears to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. In traditional accounts, this lady
claims to be the “mother of the one true God”. There have been other purported
and even believable appearances of a mysterious woman who seers identify as
Miriam or Mary, the Mother of Jesus. In this case, we not only have traditional
story telling that keep the story fairly accurate including the Nican Mopohua,
or Huei Tlamahuitzoltica of Luis Lasso de la Vega published in 1649; but we
also have the image itself. The image is in the Basilica of the Lady of
Guadalupe in Mexico City.
Why does she draw attention? This
image is of a woman. As 16th century images go, this image has both a two and
three dimensional quality. The actual person represented (or in my view,
actually continuously appearing,) on the image is of three dimensional in format.
There is no gesso on the very primitive ayate fiber fabric. There is a seam
going right down the middle and still the image is more beautiful and
resplendent than masterful images painted by artists from that time period on
the best canvas fabrics from Europe.
Seemingly superimposed upon the lady’s gown is a two dimensional diagram
of Aztecan hieroglyphic floral design. It does not follow the contour of the
shadows in the woman’s clothing. Go figure. What artist would think of that?
But this flora-gram spoke to the Aztec to the point that in the period of one
decade after 1531, more than 10 million Aztecs voluntarily were stricken at the
core transforming their culture of blood and death to one of water and life. By
their own will, they literally stood in line for hours to be Baptized in the
Christian religion which they thought only shortly before was an abomination.
Latin heritage and socio politics
have made this apocalyptic woman a "cultural" icon. To say that this
is the sole limit of her purpose is nothing short of idolatry. So thus, this
venerated (not worshiped) icon MUST be more. She is of another realm, beyond
time and space. The phenomenon of the
image is itself unclassifiable either as a genre of art or as religious
iconography.
She is a woman of peace. And she
brought peace to the Aztecs and Spaniards. She is a woman of building bridges
(not fences). She is a woman of humility and she inspires humility in an age of
arrogance claimed by gold and glory then and now.
The Book of Revelation tells of a
woman standing upon the moon, clothed with the sun and crowned with the stars.
Voila! Is the Lady of Guadalupe the woman John prophesies about? All
Christians, can look at the “fact” of this image as an inspiration. The child
in her womb has been and is still yet to be born in hearts.
This world and this life is
“culture”. Cultures end. Guadalupe is a blessed sign put in the roadway of
history to lead us to another realm. Guadalupe inspires us to focus on the
mysterious presence that is within her. If all of this is true, then all other
beliefs, all other systems, all that is limited by the ravages of entropy fall
short.
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