"Our Lady of Guadalupe"
- Description
- The Virgin of Guadalupe is a symbol of religious faith and nationhood. As the patron saint of Mexico, she was among the first manifestations of the Virgin Mary in the newly colonized Americas. In a country that has historically been divided in many ways—regionally, ethnically, linguistically, and economically—the Virgin of Guadalupe brings together all Mexicans, north and south of the border. It is no coincidence that many of her devotees see their indigenous heritage reflected in her brown skin—according to tradition, she first appeared to an indigenous Mexican, Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, in 1531. Not coincidentally, the site of her appearance, a hill in Mexico City, had been a recently destroyed temple to the Aztec earth goddess, Tonatzin. While echoing the pre-Hispanic past, the Virgin of Guadalupe is an emblem of unity and perseverance that has been invoked in struggles ranging from the Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821) to the organizing and activism of the United Farm Workers of America in the 1960s and 1970s. This image is taken from a paño made by Walter Baca in 1991. Paños are graphic art works designed on handkerchiefs by Chicano prisoners in California, Texas, and the Southwest.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Object Name
- handkerchief (Paño)
- Date made
- 1991
- artist
- Baca, Walter
- Physical Description
- cotton (overall material)
- ink (overall material)
- roman catholicism (overall single or multi-hued)
- white (overall color)
- yellow (overall color)
- orange (overall color)
- blue (overall color)
- painted (overall production method/technique)
- Measurements
- overall: 41 cm x 41 cm; 16 1/8 in x 16 1/8 in
- average spatial: 16 1/8 in x 16 1/8 in; 40.9575 cm x 40.9575 cm
- Place Made
- United States: New Mexico, Albuquerque
- ID Number
- 1991.0431.02
- catalog number
- 1991.0431.02
- accession number
- 1991.0431
- subject
- Religion
- Christianity
- Roman Catholicism
- Virgin
- Latino
- Prisons
- Virgin of Guadalupe
- Mexican America
- See more items in
- Home and Community Life: Ethnic
- Mexican America
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
- Title (Spanish)
- "Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe"
- Credit Line
- Gift of Rudy Padilla
Visitor Comments