This image titled Alabado en Lengua Mexican by Jose Agustin de Aldama y Guevara was created in 1775, in the Spanish vice-royalty of New Spain. The image depicts the alleged apparition of the Virgen de Guadalupe to Juan Diego, a native Indian in Tepayac hill, Mexico City, in 1531ac. The body is composed of a praise dedicated to the Virgen of Guadalupe written in the native language of Nahuatl. The Virgen of Guadalupe is depicted with a mild-mannered face which conveys compassion. She is standing above the moon and blocking the sun, both of which were Aztec deities, signifying her status above them. She appears wearing a crown and a cloak made of stars., this signifying high status and universality All of this signifies her holy status and the words being in Nahuatl we know the native people where the intended audience.
Since the founding of the vice-royalty of New Spain, the Catholic church took a leading role in its construction and governing. During this time, the church was a powerful institution that permeated all of life throughout the colonies. According to Alexander Dawson, “The Catholic Church acted as the social glue, operating schools, hospitals, orphanages, charities, and cemeteries, and dominating social and ecclesiastical life through its calendar.” (Dawson 17). The church played such a pivotal role in colonial life that having a population that was catholic would ensure its continuation as a powerful and pivotal institution. To bring the native people into Catholicism, the church constructed grand churches, launched educational campaigns to educate people into the new religion, and distributed Christian texts and iconography. Without a doubt the image of the Virgen de Guadalupe was the most important image for bringing people and church together. The image of the Virgen de Guadalupe and the story of Juan Diego came to be used heavily for propaganda by the catholic church in New Spain for the purpose of converting the local population to Catholicism. The image would surely appeal strongly to the masses. The Virgin was depicted with the same physical characteristics as the population and because the virgin appeared to one of their own this would signify the special interest the deity took in the people of Mexico.
The Catholic church during colonial times was successful into using the image of the Virgen de Guadalupe and telling the story of Juan Diego for bring people into Catholicism. By having large segments of the population convert to Catholicism the church could more easily operate within the colonies and segment its role as a pillar of the colonial government. The Virgin was finally adopted by the population and became such a big symbol for the local population that it was carried as a war banner during the start of the Mexican independence movement by the priest Miguel Hidalgo. What started as an effort to control the population ended up being adopted and becoming the post powerful and enduring symbol of Mexico.
WORKS CITED
Dawson, Alexander. Latin America since Independence : A History with Primary Sources, Taylor & Francis Group, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/baruch/detail.action?docID=1779185.