Our Lady of Guadalupe

I woke up this morning at 6:30 am to strains of las Mañanitas, the Mexican birthday song. My neighbors were up early at the chapel down the street to serenade la Virgen de Guadalupe on this, her feast day, December 12.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is a manifestation of the Virgin Mary who appeared to a native Mexican in 1531. She is known in Mexico as the virgen morena, the "dark virgin" and over time has become a national symbol, appearing on banners of troops in the War of Independence and the Mexican Revolution. Mexico's first president even named himself after her - born José Miguel Fernández, he changed his name to Guadalupe Victoria. The Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City is the second most visited church in the world after St. Peter's (the Vatican), with over 12 million people visiting in a year.

Read more about the Basilica of Guadalupe.

_{Image of the Virgin of Guadalupe courtesy of Sancta.org}