At 6:00 am on December 12, in the early morning cold, twenty people from Proyecto Santiago and Casa Marianella refugee house gathered at Casa’s Guadalupe shrine to sing “Las Mañanitas” in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe. After the prayer service, we enjoyed a desayuno of tamales and chocolate, prepared by Sofía Herrera. This was the seventh year of paying tribute to the patron of Mexico.
La Virgen de Guadalupe is widely revered because of her appearance to Juan Diego, an Aztec Christian, as an indigenous woman, dressed in native colors. Our Lady of Guadalupe is honored as the protector of poor and oppressed people. Not only is she the national symbol of Mexico, but is a symbol of César Chávez and Dolores Huerta’s farm worker movement in the United States.
