L.A. celebrates the Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe

December 12 is the Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe, commemorating the day the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared and presented herself to Juan Diego, an Indigenous man at the Hill of Tepeyac in Mexico City. 

For many Latinos, celebrating the Virgin Mary is more than a religious tradition; it is a family and cultural costume that has lived on for years. In Mexico, December 12 is considered a national holiday, but in communities across the United States. and Mexico border, holiday or not, el Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe is still a night of celebration and devotion. 

In both places across the border, La Virgen de Guadalupe is beloved, and celebrations usually include a time of prayer, fanfare and cultural dance presentations representing the diverse population through Mexico, including parades and fireworks. 

Despite La Virgen de Guadalupe being one of the most respected entities of Mexico's Catholic faith, she also holds a symbolic significance to Los Angeles culture, with hundreds of murals adorned with her image painted across various storefronts and corners of the city. 

For the undocumented community, La Virgen de Guadalupe also has great significance, as she is viewed as the mother of Mexico, giving hope, love and assurance, especially to those who feel marginalized or oppressed.

According to the National Museum of Mexican Art, after the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego, she asked him to build a shrine on the spot where she had appeared, the Hill of Tepeyac , now in a suburb of Mexico City. But Diego needed proof and was asked by a local bishop to confirm what he had seen in order for him to agree to build a church on the site. 

The Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego first on December 9 and then again three days later on December 12. On this day, the Virgin Mary miraculously showed him where to pick roses, even though it was winter, to take to the bishop as proof that she had really appeared. He then collected the roses, traveled back to the bishop and opened his cloak to show him the roses. The roses fell to the floor, but the cloak had a picture of La Virgen de Guadalupe inside, something that since then has been considered a miracle. 

In L.A., the annual celebration in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe will take place at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on Wednesday evening, December 11, 2024. Standing amid DTLA, the cathedral is home of prayer to over five million Southern California Catholics. 

The annual celebration of La Virgen de Guadalupe will include dances from indigenous dancers on the Cathedral Plaza and the veneration of the relic of the tilma of St. Juan Diego and the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Cathedral is home to the only relic of the tilma outside of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. 

The event will encompass a special rosary, followed by a performance by mariachi and other musical tributes, including the singing of  “Las Mañanitas,” a traditional Mexican birthday song to honor the Virgin Maryon her day. The program will be in Spanish and will begin at 6 p.m. and end at midnight with a Midnight Mass in her honor.

For more information on this event, visit https://olacathedral.org/guadalupe-celebration