LITR 4332 American Minority Literature Model Assignments Research Project Submissions 2013 research post 2

Blanca Castellanos

April 27, 2013

The Virgen of Guadalupe as an Example of Cultural Hybridity

            When I initially began my second post, I was going to research the Virgen of Guadalupe as a symbol in Mexican Minority Literature. Then, I came across the term Cultural Hybridity and found it interesting. Cultural Hybridity refers to the mixing of cultures, or consisting of two or more cultures. The reason I found this interesting is because I could be an example of cultural hybridity. My father's family is "more Mexican" than my mother's. We celebrate Mexican traditions with his family. My mother's family is Hispanic, but two generations were born and raised in Texas. My family is a fusion of Latin music, Alan Jackson, enchiladas, and crawfish. I grew-up in between cultures, not exactly fitting into one specific one, but able to blend in with both. After reading about the meaning of cultural hybridity, I decided to apply the concept of cultural hybridity to the story of the Virgen of Guadalupe.

            The Virgen of Guadalupe has become an important icon to the Mexican American Culture. I have often heard her referred to as "La Virgen Morena," which translates to "the dark-skinned Virgen." The Virgen of Guadalupe is a Native American version of the mother of Christ. The image of her that is imprinted on Juan Diego's tilma shows her as a dark-skinned, dark-haired Virgin Mary. Her features appear to be that of a Native American woman. She even appeared on a sacred site that is also associated with an Aztec goddess of fertility known as Tonantzin. There is a mixing of cultures throughout the story of her appearance. For instance, The roses that fell from Juan Diego's tilma when he revealed her image to the Bishop were Spanish roses called rosas de Castilla. (The Story of the Virgen de Guadalupe) There is a lot of European as well as Native American influence in the story of the Virgen.

            The first article I found that had a good explanation for the term cultural hybridity was a paper by Christoph Raetzsch. Raetzsch had a good description for the term. Cultural hybridity is a concept that became popular in the last few decades to try and dispel racism. "Cultural hybridity has also been a term used to describe societies that emerge from cultural contacts of European "explorers" and those "explored." Instead of explaining these contacts as mere imposures of a major culture onto a minor culture, hybridity emphasizes their mutual intermingling" (Raetzsch, 2003). The Virgen of Guadalupe is an example of how European and Native American religions and cultures converged. This convergence of different religions is referred to as syncretism. Syncretism and cultural hybridity are related in that religion plays a very important role in culture. Most cultures are a reflection of the religion that is practiced. The mestizo culture that was beginning to arise around the time of the Virgen's appearance is a paradigm of cultural hybridity.

            Another article I came across was written by Roseanna Mueller. The article describes the importance of the Virgen to Mexican-American culture and how she is a case of syncretic religion. Her article also discusses the iconography of the Virgen and how she has played a role in Mexican national identity. I found her article the most informative. The Virgen of Guadalupe appeared to an indigenous man with a Christian name, who had converted to Catholicism, but who was still familiar with Aztec deities. If the term hybridity easily translates to "mixing," then there was a whole lot of hybridity going on in the story of the Virgen. "Even though the Spanish conquest imposed Christianity and colonialism on the original populations, the Catholic Church allowed--some say even encouraged--the association between specific locations and Aztec deities as a means to effect an easier transition from native religions to Christianity, resulting in the introduction of localized patron saints" (Mueller, 2013).

            The story of the Virgen is one that different cultures were able to relate to. Both European and Indians, who lived in Mexico at the time, were familiar with the story of the Virgen Morena. It was appealing to the European Settlers because she was the Virgin Mary and the mother of Christ and she appealed to the Natives because she was dark-skinned and appeared to Juan Diego, and Indian man. Eventually these two races came together to create a race of mestizos and the two cultures converged to create what we know today as The Mexican Culture. The Mexican culture has kept her story alive through their faith and storytelling.