La Virgen
I’m a fan of the Virgin Mary. Not in a religious way, but a kitchy sort of way. ‘Nary a month goes by without her popping up somewhere. She’s a very busy saint. She appears in tortillas, under viaducts, on turtle bellies, in sonograms, in stained cookware, in windows, and the patterns of wood paneling. Like Where’s Waldo or Carmen Sandiego. And then shrines pop up in her wake. Flowers. Candles. Teddy bears. And people come. Just in case there are any leftover miracles hanging around.I especially like the Virgen de Guadalupe. Standing on the moon. Stars on her mantle. A Mexican icon. The miraculous cloak her portrait appears on is in an enormous bunker-like concrete basilica. Behind bullet-proof glass. Short moving walkways keep devotees from taking too much of her time. So they pray facing her on the short trip one way, and do it again on the way back. You can go back and forth endlessly. You just can’t stand still.
Who knows? Maybe she'll make an appearance today.
posted by Lucia @ 6:10 AM
11 Comments:
Kind of a strange story, how the Bible tells it, but I like Dan Brown's explanation better.
Mary Mary... where ya goin'
i was in mexico once during a Guadalupe festival. the parades of people following the virgin was mesmerizing.
Sounds like the fast food version of religion. :)
I wrote a story about her -- Blackberry in hand and a flock of personal assistants tring to keep her schedule straight as she makes her myriad appearances.
Where I grew up lots of people had statues of her in half-buried bathtubs in their front yards. My mother used to call them "Mary on he halfshell."
In a tortilla. HAHAHA!
When I went to Catholic school, on May Day we would fill up the Virgin Mary shrine by the church with cut lilacs. There was a little garen and pond back there, just for her. Add that to her list!
Remember a while back when someone paid $$$$ for an eight-year old grilled cheese sandwich on E Bay with the Virgin Mary's image on it?
Girl gets around.
Coincidentally, Daily Bread posted today about the Virgin of Guadalupe (not in a kitchy sort of way, but in a religious way).
I am fascinated by the Virgin Mary, too! The fascination started shortly after I read "Our Lady of the Lost and Found" by Diane Schoemperlen. Collecting Catholic folk art is a relatively new hobby for me, but I am enjoying it immensely...never knew there were so many versions of Mary!
Bloghopped here from Sanjay's, you've got a great blog, Lucia!
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