Mythology & Religion – Mexican Routes

China Poblana

admin — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 18:16:11 +0000

Catarina de San Juan known as the China Poblana was a slave that, according to legend, belonged to a noble family from India. She was brought to Mexico through the Spanish East Indies (Philippines) and has been credited since the Porfiriato with creating the China Poblana dress.

After converting to Catholicism in Cochin —an Indian city where she was kidnapped by Portuguese pirates—, Mirra was given the Christian name Catarina de San Juan, the name she was known as in Angelópolis where she worked as a slave, got married, and eventually became a beata – a religious woman who took personal religious vows without entering a convent.

Upon her death, Catarina de San Juan was buried in the sacristy of the Templo de la Compañía de Jesús in Puebla, in what is popularly known as Tumba de la China Poblana or Tomb of the Chinese Pueblan.

In Hispanic cultures at the time, it was common to use the term chino to refer to all persons of Asian descent, regardless of actual ethnicity.

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What is known about the life of Catarina de San Juan is from published 17th-century texts.

According to these sources, a young Indian woman was brought from the Philippines by a merchant ship to be the viceroy’s personal servant.

This girl, named Mirra, was kidnapped by Portuguese pirates and taken to Cochin (modern-day Kochi), in the south of India. There, she escaped her kidnappers and took refuge in a Jesuit mission, where she was baptized with the name Catarina de San Juan.

Mirra was then delivered to Manila where she was purchased as a slave by a merchant who later took her to New Spain.

But once they disembarked in the port of Acapulco, instead of delivering her to the Marquis, the merchant sold her as a slave to the Pueblan man Miguel de Sosa for ten times the price that the viceroy had promised for her.

Catarina de San Juan, or Mirra (or Mira/Meera), followed the style of dress of her birth country, India, completely wrapped in a sari that covered her whole body. She could have worn the Langa Voni which consists of a blouse and a petticoat. It is possible that this mode of the dress gave rise to the china dress.

A few years after her arrival in Mexico, Miguel de Sosa died, providing in his will for the manumission of his slave.

She was taken in by a convent, where it is said she began to have visions of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus.

Catarina de San Juan died on 5 January 1688 at the age of 82 years.

In Puebla de Los Ángeles she was venerated as a popular saint until 1691 when the Holy Inquisition prohibited open devotion to her.

Today, the former Jesuit church, the Templo de la Compañía, in Puebla, is known as La Tumba de la China Poblana because in its sacristy lie the remains of Catarina de San Juan.

Source: PueblaCity.com

El Mayab, la tierra del faisán y del venado

admin — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 18:00:36 +0000

Hace mucho, pero mucho tiempo, el señor Itzamná decidió crear una tierra que fuera tan hermosa que todo aquél que la conociera quisiera vivir allí, enamorado de su belleza.

Entonces creó El Mayab, la tierra de los elegidos, y sembró en ella las más bellas flores que adornaran los caminos, creó enormes cenotes cuyas aguas cristalinas reflejaran la luz del sol y también profundas cavernas llenas de misterio.

Después, Itzamná le entregó la nueva tierra a los mayas y escogió tres animales para que vivieran por siempre en El Mayab y quien pensara en ellos lo recordara de inmediato. Los elegidos por Itzamná fueron el faisán, el venado y la serpiente de cascabel.

Los mayas vivieron felices y se encargaron de construir palacios y ciudades de piedra.

Mientras, los animales que escogió Itzamná no se cansaban de recorrer El Mayab. El faisán volaba hasta los árboles más altos y su grito era tan poderoso que podían escucharle todos los habitantes de esa tierra.

El venado corría ligero como el viento y la serpiente movía sus cascabeles para producir música a su paso.

Así era la vida en El Mayab, hasta que un día, los chilam, o sea los adivinos mayas, vieron en el futuro algo que les causó gran tristeza. Entonces, llamaron a todos los habitantes, para anunciar lo siguiente:

“Tenemos que dar noticias que les causarán mucha pena. Pronto nos invadirán hombres venidos de muy lejos; traerán armas y pelearán contra nosotros para quitarnos nuestra tierra. Tal vez no podamos defender El Mayab y lo perderemos”.

Al oír las palabras de los chilam, el faisán huyó de inmediato a la selva y se escondió entre las yerbas, pues prefirió dejar de volar para que los invasores no lo encontraran.

Cuando el venado supo que perdería su tierra, sintió una gran tristeza; entonces lloró tanto, que sus lágrimas formaron muchas aguadas. A partir de ese momento, al venado le quedaron los ojos muy húmedos, como si estuviera triste siempre.

Sin duda, quien más se enojó al saber de la conquista fue la serpiente de cascabel. Ella decidió olvidar su música y luchar con los enemigos. Así que creó un nuevo sonido que produce al mover la cola y que ahora usa antes de atacar.

Como dijeron los chilam, los extranjeros conquistaron El Mayab. Pero aún así, un famoso adivino maya anunció que los tres animales elegidos por Itzamná cumplirán una importante misión en su tierra.

Los mayas aún recuerdan las palabras que una vez dijo:

“Mientras las ceibas estén en pie y las cavernas de El Mayab sigan abiertas, habrá esperanza. Llegará el día en que recobraremos nuestra tierra, entonces los mayas deberán reunirse y combatir. Sabrán que la fecha ha llegado cuando reciban tres señales.

La primera será del faisán, quien volará sobre los árboles más altos y su sombra podrá verse en todo El Mayab.
La segunda señal la traerá el venado, pues atravesará esta tierra de un solo salto.
La tercera mensajera será la serpiente de cascabel, que producirá música de nuevo y ésta se oirá por todas partes.

Con estas tres señales, los animales avisarán a los mayas que es tiempo de recuperar la tierra que les quitaron”.

Ése fue el anuncio del adivino, pero el día aún no llega. Mientras tanto, los tres animales se preparan para estar listos.

Así, el faisán alisa sus alas, el venado afila sus pezuñas y la serpiente frota sus cascabeles. Sólo esperan el momento de ser los mensajeros que reúnan a los mayas para recobrar El Mayab.

The Basilica of Guadalupe

admin — Sun, 01 Jul 2018 22:30:14 +0000

The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe) is a roman catholic church, basilica, and National shrine of Mexico in the north of Mexico City.

The shrine was built near the hill of Tepeyac where Our Lady of Guadalupe is believed to have appeared to Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin.

This site is also known as La Villa de Guadalupe or, in a more popular sense, simply La Villa, as it has several churches and related buildings.

The new Basilica houses the original tilma (or cloak) of Juan Diego, which holds the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

One of the most important pilgrimage sites of Catholicism, the basilica is visited by several million people every year, especially around 12 December, Our Lady of Guadalupe’s Feast day.

History

A nearby chapel was built on the sacred site devoted to a temple for Tonantzin Coatlaxopeuh, an important mother goddess after the Spanish conquerors destroyed the temple.

Pilgrimages have been made to this shrine almost uninterrupted since 1531-32. In the latter year, a shrine had been constructed at the foot of Tepeyac Hill, which served the people for ninety years. It was adapted as part of the parochial sacristy of the new basilica.

In 1622 a rich shrine was erected; a newer one, much richer, in 1709. Other structures of the eighteenth century connected with it are a parish church, a convent and church for Capuchin nuns, a well chapel, and a hill chapel.

About 1750 the shrine got the title of collegiate, and a canonry and choir service were established. In 1754 it was aggregated to the Basilica of St. John Lateran.

In 1904 it was designated as a basilica.

The Legend of Guadalupe

For more than three hundred years, the virgin Mary of Guadalupe has been celebrated and revered in Mexico as the patroness of mexican and indian peoples, and as the queen of the Americas.

She stands on home altars, lends her name to men and women alike, and finds herself at rest under their skin in tattoos. Guadalupe’s image proliferates on candles, decals, tiles, murals, and old and new sacred art. Churches and religious orders carry her name, as do place names and streets. Far from vulgarizing her image, these items personalize her and maintain her presence in daily life. She is prayed to in times of sickness and war and for protection against all evils.

The legend of Guadalupe begins in december 1531 in Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) when the Virgin Mary appeared four times to the indian peasant Juan Diego. He was on his way to mass when a beautiful woman surrounded by a body halo appeared to him with the music of songbirds in the background. As the birds became quiet, Mary announced “I am the entirely and ever virgin, saint Mary”. Assuring Juan Diego that she was his “compassionate mother” and that she had come out of her willingness to love and protect “all folk of every kind, she requested that he build a temple in her honor at the place where she stood, Tepeyac Hill, on the eastern edge of Mexico City. (This spot has been identified as the site where once stood a temple to the aztec goddess Tonantzin.)

Juan Diego went directly to the bishop of Mexico, Zumarraga, to relate this wondrous event. The churchman was skeptical and dismissed the humble peasant, who then returned to Tepeyac Hill to beseech the Virgin Mary to find a more prominent person who was less “pitiably poor” than he to do her bidding. Rejecting his protestations, the virgin urged him to return to the bishop and “indeed say to him once more how it is I myself, the ever virgin saint Mary, mother of god, who am commissioning you.”

Juan Diego returned to the churchman’s palace after mass, waited, and was finally able to enter his second plea on behalf of the virgin. This time, Zumarraga asked the humble native to request a sure sign directly from the “heavenly woman” as to her true identity. The bishop then had some members of his staff follow Juan Diego to check on where he went and whom he saw.

The next day, Juan Diego hastened to the bedside of his dying uncle, Juan Bernadino. The old man, gravely ill, begged his nephew to fetch a priest for the last rites of the church. The following morning, before dawn, Juan Diego set off on this mission. He tried to avoid the virgin because of his uncle’s worsening condition, but she intercepted him and asked “Whither are you going?” He confessed that it was on behalf of his uncle that he was rushing to summon a priest. During this third meeting, she assured him that the uncle was “healed up”, as she had already made a separate appearance to him. This visitation would start a tradition of therapeutic miracles associated with “our lady of Guadalupe”. She also comforted Juan Diego with the assurance that she would give him sure proof of her real identity.

On december 12, 1531 the virgin appeared to Juan Diego for the fourth time and bade him to go to the top of Tepeyac Hill and pick “Castilian garden flowers” from the normally barren summit. She helped him by “taking them up in her own hands” and folded them into his cloak woven of maguey plant fibers. Juan Diego then set off to Zumarraga’s palace with this sure sign of the virgin Mary of Guadalupe’s identity. As he unwrapped his cloak, the flowers tumbled at the churchman’s feet, and “suddenly, upon that cloak, there flashed a portrait, where sallied into view a sacred image of that ever virgin holy Mary, mother of god.”

This imprint of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, the “miraculous portrait” as it is often called, hangs today in the Basilica of Gudalupe in Mexico City.

Since then Juan Diego never saw his halo woman again, but fortunately for the churchmen, the legend managed to spread and become popular, and until now almost all mexicans still believe in this old legend.

It’s difficult to say what really happened, whether the Spanish fooled the Indians or visaversa. And who did the Mexican’s ancestors pray to in the temple built on the sacred spot of the goddess Tonatzin.. We will probably never know that.

However, it’s obvious that timing for the vision of Juan Diego was perfect for the church. And in the end of the day, it was indifferent wich celestial chancellery did the brand-new christians send thier prays to, as chatolicism was successfully taking footholds in Mexico..

Old basilica

Officially known as the “Templo Expiatorio a Cristo Rey,” the first structure of the old basilica was begun in 1695 and it was not finished until 1709. The major architect was Pedro de Arrieta. It is characterized by its doric interior and marble statues of Fray Juan de Zumárraga, archbishop at the time it was started, and Juan Diego, the peasant who saw the vision of the Virgin Mary. These are featured in the altarpiece that originally held the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. (That altarpiece matches a similar one in the older chapel higher on the hill, which features the archangels Gabriel and Michael). The church was granted basilica status by Pope Pius X in 1904.

The icon of Juan Diego’s cloak was housed in this church from 1709 to 1974. In 1921 a bomb planted in a flower vase near the altar by an anticlerical terrorist exploded, causing great damage to the interior of the building. (In memory of this incident, the New Basilica displays an iron crucifix called “the attempt on Christ”.) The cloak survived undamaged.

As much of Mexico City was built on a former lake, the land was unstable and the old basilica was sinking. A new, more spacious basilica was built. The old one was closed for many years and repairs have recently finished. It is open to the public and perpetual adoration is held there. It is a very important place for Mexico City.

Modern basilica

The present church was constructed on the site of an earlier 16th-century church that was finished in 1709, the Old Basilica. When this basilica became dangerous due to the sinking of its foundations, a modern structure called the New Basilica was built next to it; the original image of the Virgin of Guadalupe is now housed in this New Basilica.

Built between 1974 and 1976, the new Basilica has a circular floorplan so that the image of the Virgin can be seen from any point within the building. The circular structure is 100 meters (330 ft) in diameter and can accommodate up to 10,000 people.

The choir is located between the altar and the churchgoers to indicate that it, too, is part of the group of the faithful. To the sides are the chapels of the Santisimo and of Saint Joseph. It has 9 chapels on the upper floor.

Under the main floor are the Basilica’s crypts, with 15,000 niches and 10 chapels. Its seven front doors are an allusion to the seven gates of Celestial Jerusalem referred to by Christ.

In the Sanctuary grounds where the new Basilica is located there are also many other buildings, including the original chapel on the exact site of the apparitions to Juan Diego (Capilla del Cerrito) and the Old Basilica consecrated in 1709, as well as other chapels where Masses and other sacraments of the Church are celebrated daily.

Google map of Basílica de Guadalupe

The legend of La Llorona

admin — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 21:32:08 +0000

Since Disney’s “Coco” went on screens in 2017, it had unbelievable success.

This animated movie collected a lot of Mexican folklore and traditions.

It’s a story about young Miguel, who went through the Land of the Dead while his town was celebrating the famous Day of the Dead (“Dia de los Muertos”). He was passionate about music and a lot of songs were sung in the film.

One of them attracted the attention with its bitterness. This song is La Llorona.

Generations of Mexican children have grown up afraid of La Llorona, a wailing woman whose misdeeds in life have left her spirit trapped on Earth, where she torments little children.

Llorona is some kind of legend, a myth and spooky bedtime story whose origins date back hundreds of years. The scary story varies a little depending on the region and the person who tells it.

We decided to tell you more about the story behind this song. If you are interested in some private or more profound research on the topic of Mexican legends – you are welcome to order a cheap essay about it.

The Legend of La Llorona

In Spanish, “Llorona” means “weeping woman”. She is described as a tall ghost with beautiful long dark hair and charming looks.

La Llorona is dressed in a white gown and you can meet her near the rivers. La Llorona is a tragic figure in Mexican folklore, she wears white and wanders the waterside in profound grief seeking her drowned children.

The most common version says that the origin of a story lies deep in the ages of conquistadors.

Some versions vary from one to another, but the common part is that it’s a story of a woman who was forced to drown her children. Then she killed herself and started to seek her babies in rivers, creeks, and lakes.

Some people call her Maria, a peasant girl of exceptional beauty. She attracted a lot of attention from different men – both poor and reach. Every evening she wore her best white dress which she was even more exciting.

She loved the attention – and people gave her a lot of it.

But there were two sons of her, and their presence distracted her a lot. One day they were found drowned and some people said that the boys may have died at the hands of their mother.

But there is also another version of the story

A long time ago, a woman named Maria was happily married to a wealthy man and they had two children born in love. But time passed, and the man was less interested in Maria.

He preferred to spend time with other women and didn’t even talk to his wife. When he was home, he used to pay attention only to his sons, ignoring his beautiful wife. It broke Maria’s heart.

Once she was strolling with the sons near the river. Suddenly the carriage came nearer. It was Maria’s husband a beautiful woman sitting next to him. He ignored his wife – as usual – and talked to his sons.

Then he continued his trip with a woman and left Maria behind.

Rampage possessed Maria. Some versions claim Maria drowned her two children, but she immediately regretted it and she started to cry and run down to the river’s bank. But she didn’t find even bodies.

The Curse of La Llorona

According to some versions, Maria drowned herself afterward.

Other versions claim she walked along next to the river for some time, calling for her sons and crying. She ate nothing and with time her body became skinny and she started to look taller. Her white dress made her look like a ghost.

Finally, she fell and died next to the river. For pity, death didn’t give her peace. When she arrived at heaven’s gates, she was denied entry and banished back to purgatory on Earth until she could find her lost children.

And now Maria is known as La Llorona (“the weeping woman”) – a ghost who is looking for her sons. The legend says she floats over and near bodies of water in her white, funereal gown, forever weeping as she searches for her lost children.

Beware of this meeting with La Llorona! She will seize you and drown you. People say, she is dangerous for children first, but you can be not fast enough to explain you are grown up.

Some versions of the story say she kidnaps or attacks children; others say she attacks cheating husbands. Regardless, when you hear her cries, the directive remains the same: run away.