Thousands March from West Village to St. Pat’s Cathedral to Celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe

If it’s early December in New York City then that can mean only one thing: Lupita’s back in town!

This fact was affirmed on Thursday December 12, as more than 2,400 Mexicans and others Latin celebrants crowded into St. Patrick’s Cathedral for a 10 a.m. mass celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe—the 16th century Mexican saint lovingly nicknamed Lupita.

For some in attendance, the day’s celebrations had begun even earlier, down at the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Bernard at 328 W. 14th Street in the West Village. From here, starting at alarm-busting hour of 7 a.m., hundreds of devotees, escorted by NYPD and their own large, Mexican and American flag flying GMC Sierra pickup truck, zig-zagged their way on foot up to St. Patrick’s.

The weather this morning was brisk, with temperatures in the mid-30s and a substantial breeze but, as with everything Lupita-related, spirits remained high.

In front of St Patrick’s on 5th Avenue, mass attendees could see and hear the costumed dancers and musicians who’d come up from the Village earlier. Dressed in a variety of styles including some in giant sombreros, masks, animal costumes, drums and flutes they couldn’t be missed and were a delight to all who saw them. Portable shrines to Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe were also popular, with many people patiently waiting to get their photos taken in front of them.

At just about 10 a.m. exactly, a smiling Cardinal Timothy Dolan emerged from a side door to enter through the main cathedral entrance, giving a salutary shake of his ceremonial staff to the Straus News reporter facing him. “Right on, Card!” the scribbler, thinking of his many Catholic friends, jotted in his notebook.

Curiously, for such a large and impressive event, the only other press in attendance were from Telemundo and the Religion News Service (RNS) web site—a point worth remembering when this or that politician or commentator broadly opines about “Latino” culture in the city.

The meager attention Lupita receives in New York contrasts greatly with that in other regions, Texas, Arizona and California especially, where Our Lady of Guadalupe is widely recognized and her annual celebration a source of community joy.

The story goes like this.

On December 9, 1531, Guadalupe—a Spanish incarnation of the Virgin Mary—appeared before a middle-aged Chicimeca Indian man named Juan Diego and, speaking in his native Nahuatl language, asked him to build her a shrine upon the Hill of Tepeyac, a suburb in today’s Mexico City. Diego, a Catholic convert whose indigenous name was Cuauhtlatoatzin—the talking Eagle—obeyed her request, and informed the Bishop of Mexico, Juan de Zumarrága, what must be done. Skeptical, the Bishop asked Diego to provide a sign that his vision was true.

On December 12, again Guadalupe appeared to Diego, and led him to place where, even though it was winter, roses were blooming. Diego gathered up the flowers, wrapped them in his cloak and returned to the Bishop. When Diego opened his cloak, the roses fell to the ground, while upon the cloth of his cloak, there now appeared the colorful image of Guadalupe herself. Now that’s a sign!

In 1737, Guadalupe became the patron saint of Mexico City, and later, of all Mexico and parts of what today are California, Guatemala and El Salvador. But that’s not all. Because her image showed Guadalupe wearing a black sash—a sign denoting pregnancy in old Mexican culture—Lupita is also considered the patroness of the unborn.

Today, the large religious complex at Tepeyec, anchored by the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, is an immensely popular pilgrimage site, attracting millions of visitors each December alone. In 2002, Juan Diego was canonized by Pope John Paul II, becoming the first Indigenous person to be sainted in the Americas.

The service on Dec. 12, conducted entirely in Spanish, was festive, highlighted by the snazzily dressed mariachi-like band with guitars, trumpet and bajo sexto players along with male and female singers.

For non-Mexicans and non-Catholics too, the music alone was worth the price of admission—which of course was free, though when the men with the long-handled wicker collection baskets come around, most people dig in for a buck or two.

Dress among the Mexican attendees was largely informal though not careless, with a large number of women, men and some kids wearing matching reddish maroon or pink Lupita sweatshirts and hoodies. A few people seemed dressed as they might for workday in one of the nearby office buildings but they were a minority.

For people who couldn’t get enough of Our Lady of Guadalupe, or whose schedules precluded joining in the morning festivities, both St. Bernard’s and St. Patrick’s hosted midnight “Las Mañanitas” celebrations the night before, featuring mariachi music, dancing and roses.