#2 La Virgen

It’s a love like no other. Shrines and tattoos have been built and inked to the beauty, wisdom and relentless love to La Virgen Maria de Guadalupe. The love for La Virgen is not to be confused with a numb devotion to the Catholic Church. In fact, for Chicanos or Chicanas or Xicanas with an “X”, depending on the level of indigenous intellect, La Virgen, is really a reincarnation of the Aztec goddess, Tonatzin (toe-nat-zeen) also known in Mesoamerican cultures as Coatlicue (ko-yat-tli-koo), and Cihuacoatl, (sea-gua-ko-yat), the mother of all creation in pre-conquered America.

During the Catholic invasion, err…conversions, the worship of the mother goddess, who gave birth to Huitzilipotchtli (weet-zee-lee-potch-lee), the god of the sun and war, (aka Jesus!) is seen by intellect circles within Chicano culture as the true image seen by Cuauhtlatoatzin, (Koo-ah-ooh-tla-toe-at-zeen), a mere indigenous peasant, aka, Juan Diego. When the Goddess performed the miracle of pasting her image and roses on Juan Diegos’ tilma (robe), the church claimed the image to be that of the Virgen Mary, not of Tonatzin, the indigenous earth mother. The shrine of Tonatzin was destroyed, and in its place, a church in the honor of the La Virgen was built, known today as the Basilica of our Lady of Guadalupe, the largest church in Mexico in her honor.

Prayer and vigilance to the earth mother Tonatzin remained under the guise of La Virgen, who is depicted, if you look closely, as a small brown woman with brown eyes, and black hair, the shawl she is covered in, also depicts the solar system. The stars are not random, as the Aztec culture of Mexico was highly advanced in Astrology.

The devotion/adoration/pop culture fanatics that are aimed at La Virgen by Chicanos are not devotions to the Catholic Church, as this would attract the wrong kind of Chicano, but an understanding of a robbed culture and an indigenous past. La Virgen, is an iconic imagine of acculturation, colonization, genocide, divide and conquer and the expansion of Catholicism under false pretenses. Although there are religious Chicanos, most that have attended East LA College or CSUN have gotten a fair share of anti-Catholic doctrine.

So, if you see a Chicana walk by with a cool tote bag/skirt/shirt displaying La Virgen, say something along the lines of La Virgen being the new imagine of Chicana feminism, “I was really amazed by Gloria Anzaldua’s ‘Borderlands/La Frontera’, her unapologetic approach to the colonization of Mexico and the obvious exclusion of female deities in Catholic religion is nothing more than a continued patriarchic view on society”.

If you find yourself with Cholo Chicanos, with tattoos of La Virgen, know that it is a testament of the love for their mothers. You can say something like, “I really wish I had gotten a tattoo of La Virgen when I was locked up, she always reminds me of my jefita”. Jefita (Hegh-fee-ta) meaning “little boss”.

When amidst Chicano intellects who wear all black/indigenous clothing and heavy stone jewelry, reflect on the mystery of Tonatzin, acknowledge she stands on a crescent moon and that the rays behind her are really more serpent like. This will make the Chicanos respond with nods of approval as this awesome and educated observation is true as Tonatzin, is the reincarnation of Coatlicue, who is the Aztec Goddess of the moon and stars, and Cihuacoatl, is the Serpent Goddess, patron of women and childbirth.

If someone states these truths before you, do not fear, a you can quickly recover by adding that Tonatzin told Juan Diego to call her, Coatlaxopeuh (Koo-at-tla-sue-pay) which sounds like Guadalupe, yet more proof of the obvious mind colonization of the indigenous people of Mexico by the Catholic Church. You can also say that Juan Diego aka Cuauhtlatoatzin, means “He who talks like an eagle”, can be linked to the Mexican flag icon of an eagle holding a serpent in its beak, ie: holding Tonatzin in his beak.

Your vast knowledge in La Virgen will earn you lots of kudos from 1) Cholo Chicanos with La Virgen tattoos, 2) Xicana Feminist who see La Virgen as a post-modern symbol of independence and anti-patriarchy 3) Chicanos who consider themselves more indigenous than the people of Oaxaca because they shop at anti-malls.