HISTORY OF THE VILLA OF
agnosticism, the Basilica of Santa María
THE BASILICA OF THE VIRGIN
OF GUADALUPE
The Cerro del Tepeyac had a symbolic
character for the Aztecs. Here they
worshiped Tonantzin, which in Nahuatl
means "Our Mother", the name of a
goddess that brought together different
female Mexica deities, such as Coatlicue,
Cihuacóatl and Teteoinan. The parallelism
with the name "Our Lady" used for the
Virgin Mary in Catholicism suggests that
this symmetry was sought for the
conversion of indigenous cultures.
According to Catholic tradition, on
December 12, 1531, a Chichimeca peasant
from the kingdom of Texcoco was walking
towards the Tlatelolco market. In Tepeyac
he experienced the apparition of the Virgin
Mary, who commissioned him to build a
church in the place of her apparition. As the
prelates did not believe the virgin, she
appeared to him several more times, asking
him in one of them to pick up some flowers
and show them to the bishop. Collected in
her tilma (garment worn by men, and of
pre-Hispanic heritage), he spread the
garment in front of the religious, showing
an image engraved on it with the image of
the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Beyond the creed or from atheism or
de Guadalupe brings travelers closer to
Mexico City, moved by different
BASILICA
motivations. It is certainly a social,
cultural and religious phenomenon. For the
Catholic Church, it is the reference pole
of its dogma in Latin America, while for
OF THE
the local economy it is a first-rate
tourist attraction.
VIRGIN OF
It is the most visited Marian site in the
world, with between 17 and 20 million
visitors a year, only surpassed by Saint
Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. In addition to
GUADALUPE
the historical buildings, the large circular
building of the new basilica is striking in its
grandeur. Projected by the architect
Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, its construction
began in 1974 and ended in 1976. The roof
of the circular temple is loaded with
aesthetic symbology since it is an allusion
to the "mantle of the Virgin", a protective
element for the Catholic Church of the
faithful. .

LITTLE
CHAPEL
Another of the buildings to visit is
the Capilla del Pocito, on one of the
slopes of the Tepeyac hill. The date
of its construction is from 1777 to
1791, with a design by the architect
Francisco Guerrero y Torres. The
name comes from the location,
where there was a well or spring,
which the Church was in charge of
cataloging as having miraculous
waters. The supposed healing
attracted many epidemic patients,
making the place unhealthy.
However, people continued to come,
and finally it was decided to build the
chapel on the site.
The charming temple is a Baroque
treasure with a peculiar circular plan
and an interior decoration that
alludes to the apparitions of the
Virgin with its Marian symbols. As
historical data, in 1815 José María
Morelos – architect of the second
stage of the Mexican War of
Independence – fulfilled his last wish
by going to the chapel, before his
execution.
What to see in the
Basilica of the Virgin
CERRITO of Guadalupe
Indians Chapel
CHAPEL
The old Parroquia de Indios is the oldest
building in the complex, so named
because the native Catholics were
The Chapel of the Cerrito is a small
segregated at mass, this being their
temple built as a memory of the
place of prayer. Its construction in 1649
"miracle" of the fresh flowers and
was promoted by the priest Luis Lasso
the first of the apparitions of
de la Vega, author of the Huei
Santa María de Guadalupe. The
tlamahuiçoltica, one of the first
original chapel on the hill was from
generations of Creole priests in the
1666, replaced in 1740 by Father J.
17th century.
de Montufar, adding the chaplain's
house to the annex. At a time when
The Chapel guarded the image of
the native population was not
Santa María de Guadalupe from 1695
instructed to read, the lines of the
to 1709, when it was taken to the Old
muralist painter Fernando Leal -
Basilica. The excavations of the subsoil
who decorated the interior-
show previous buildings and that if we
served as an instrument to
look at the ecclesiastical chronicle they
reinforce the Catholic faith. The
correspond to the chapel ordered to
theme addresses the meeting of
be erected by Fray Juan de Zumarraga
cultures and the imposed
in the place of the apparition of the
assimilation of religion to the local
Virgin of Guadalupe to Juan Diego. The
population.
relics of the man named as "saint" in
1990 by Pope John Paul II, are found
inside.