By Jane Bauer
The fiesta of the Virgin of Juquila is one of the most important and with greatest following among the Catholic community of the State of Oaxaca, and even among the faithful of surrounding states like Puebla, Guerrero and Veracruz. Continue reading Virgin of Juquila
By Brooke Gazer
The “separation of church and state” refers to the official distancing between organized religion and the government. Of the three countries that comprise North America only one does not have a law that separates the two institutions. Some may be surprised to learn that the odd man out is Canada. The reasons that each country has their respective policies are historical and the way each deal with religious matters varies considerably. Continue reading The Position of Church and State in North America
By Kary Vannice
Well here we are, one year after facing down the Aztec “End of the World”, December 21st, 2012. A year, that happened, and turned out to be not that much different than any other, generally speaking. Continue reading Winter Solstice
By Jan Chaiken and Marcia Chaiken
December is the month of wonderful religious traditions throughout Mexico. Beautiful candle- lit posadas, glorious masses, families and friends gathering to celebrate Christmas and Chanukah, and a general sense of peace on earth. But in this darkest month of the year it is time to remember that beginning with the Spanish conquest, atrocities were committed against residents and settlers in Mexico in the name of religion. Continue reading The Inquisition in Mexico
By Fr. William Saunders
The story begins in the early morning hours of December 9, 1531, when a 57-year-old Indian peasant named Juan Diego was walking along the path of Tepayec Hill on the outskirts of Mexico City. Continue reading Saint Juan Diego and Our Lady
By Kary Vannice
In nearly every city in Mexico, no matter the size, you inevitably find a Benito Juarez Avenue or Boulevard or Street. And most also have a prominent statue of the illustrious native President.
Perhaps, the most famous Mexican President of all time, Juarez served a tumultuous 14 years in office from 1858-1872. It could be said that Benito would never have served all those years in office were it not for his wife, Margarita Maza de Juarez. Continue reading Margarita Maza: A Faithful Collaborator
By Alvin Starkman, M.A., J.D.
Before the arrival of the Spanish, the temazcal was a village sacrament for Mexico’s indigenous peoples. It involved cleansing body and mind with curative plants, heat and vapor. But it was the ritualistic aspect of the activity, with the uniting of tens of community members at a time, which likely led to the conquistadores outlawing the practice. Even if religion was not specifically expounded in storytelling, chanting and prayer, the mere acknowledgement of the power of nature was surely enough to create unease for those early, very Catholic invaders.
In the village of San Juan Guelavía, a short drive from Oaxaca, Maestro Albino Melchor Cruz explains that while the Spaniards were concerned with permitting the practice of the temazcal as a traditional gathering of many, they were less apprehensive about its persistence on a smaller scale; perhaps an adobe hut into which a couple, or a shaman and an infirmed pueblo member entered. Thus, the more intimate temazcal continued, less threatening to the order the Spanish wished to establish and affirm. Continue reading Temazcal in Oaxaca Instills Sense of Community
By Brooke Gazer
The Mexican Revolution began as a revolt against the established order and morphed into a multi-sided civil war fought with passion and laced with intrigue. The death toll is estimated between 7-13% of the entire population; compared to about 2.5% during the American Civil war. This was a revolution of simple men rising up to against tyranny to assert their fundamental rights, and became one of the most important socio-political events in the last century. Continue reading Viva La Revolución
By Neal Erickson
At 6am on September 16, 1810, the church bells rang in the small town of Dolores, located between Guanajuato and San Luis de Potosi. Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, the 57 year old priest of the church, had ordered them rung to call his congregation to revolt. He had been an outspoken critic against bad government and society’s ills, and after a huge crowd had assembled that morning he told them it was time to stand up and rebel. This speech has come to be known as the Grito de Dolores (“Cry of Dolores”) or El Grito de la Independencia (“The Cry of Independence”). Often it is simply referred to as “El Grito”. Continue reading The Father of the Nation or “The Shout Heard ‘Round the World”
By Doreen Woelfel
While in California, recovering from knee replacements this last May, I was taken aback when it was announced that the Disney Corporation had filed an application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to slap a trademark on the phrase: Dia de los Muertos, surely one the best known of traditional holidays celebrated in Mexico, November 1 and 2. I was incredulous to say the least, and wondered that Disney, in looking really greedy, would really try to usurp what can be traced back 3000 years in Mexico, and try to make money off the holiday tradition. Day of the Dead has been celebrated in California, and the Southwest as well, for many years, and is very much a part of the culture of states with a significant Latino population. Turns out, of course, there is a movie coming out in the fall, tentatively titled Day of the Dead, from Pixar. I thought, oh, and now we have a Disney movie coming to explain a cultural tradition to a world that has been celebrating this holiday for a couple thousand years. Continue reading Day of the Dead
You must be logged in to post a comment.