For many Catholic Hoosiers with Mexican ancestry, Dec. 12 holds profound significance because the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated.
In the heart of Indianapolis lies St. Mary’s Catholic Church, one of the first churches in the city to offer a bilingual mass, and a cornerstone of the local Latino community’s festivities. At 9 p.m. every Dec. 11, the congregation makes a pilgrimage to Monument Circle that includes reverberating beats of drums and mesmerizing dances resembling the traditional indigenous dancers that paid homage to the first apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The pilgrimage leads the congregation to midnight mass.
“St. Mary’s was one of the first Catholic Churches in the city to offer bilingual mass in the 1960s and ’70s, says Nicole Martinez-LeGrand, the multicultural collections curator at the Indiana Historical Society. “The growing Latino population prompted this change. It was one of several downtown ‘Latino Spaces’ I identified in my research of the city’s ‘Lost Barrio.’”
Martinez-LeGrand talks more about her research in her Indiana Historical Blog, “Under The Expressway: Lost Barrio of Indianapolis Part II.”
The origin of the holiday goes back to December of 1531, when, according to tradition, a Chichimec peasant named Juan Diego experienced a Marian apparition on the Tepeyac Hill in Mexico City. Recorded accounts describe the Virgin Mary in this apparition as dark-skinned and as speaking in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs.
Since then, Mexicans have celebrated the Feast of Our Virgin Guadalupe, and the celebration has spread to the diaspora via the Catholic Church.
Indianapolis celebrates this day every year, not merely as a remembrance but as a living testament to the resilience of people. The Day of Our Virgin of Guadalupe serves as a poignant reminder of the profound connection between art, culture, and community — a celebration that encapsulates the very soul of Indianapolis.
On Dec. 12, many churches will host local dance groups like Ballet Folklórico Mosaicos, in addition to apparition re-enactments.
“She is more than a religious icon. In some ways she is a pop icon and synonymous with Latino culture,” says Martinez-LeGrand, 43. “Historically, the first Roman Catholic Church established in Indiana bears her name. It was founded by religious and political refugees from Mexico in Indiana Harbor in 1926. At the same time in 1923, 13 miles away in South Chicago, a Mexican Roman Catholic Church was founded in the same name. I do not think this is a coincidence.”
Because of its merging of Catholic and Indigenous cultures, the figure of the Virgin Guadalupe embodies emotions that have inspired both Catholic and non-Catholic artists. And, although controversial because of her colonial origins, for many immigrants, the Virgin of Guadalupe symbolizes a home away from home.
“With my early background in art history, I have seen her image poignantly used outside the context of religion. Most notably, ‘Portrait of the Artist as the Virgin of Guadalupe’ by the late Chicana artist Yolanda M. Lopez. Yolanda was an artist, activist and champion for culture and heritage,” says Martinez-LeGrand.
Acknowledging the importance of the revered icon in the lives of Hoosiers, the Historical Society of Indiana commissioned renowned Las Vegas artist, Justin Favela, to create a monumental art piece dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe during Latino Heritage Month in September.
Using the vibrant colors and textures of piñata materials, Favela breathed life into a 9-foot-tall representation of the Virgin Guadalupe, called “La Popular,” which hung in the Lilly Hall and was flanked by cacao plants made of the same materials.
The piece was named and inspired by two cultural anchors of the Mexican diaspora in Indiana: Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and El Popular, Indiana’s oldest, longest running Mexican owned business that sells Mexican food staples, and has operated in East Chicago, Indiana, since 1925.
The piece is no longer on display and was returned to the artist, but more work by Favela will be featured in 2024.
“His work reclaims and redefines Latinidad and takes direct inspiration from the community or collection,” says Martinez-Legrand. “He found his inspiration in a book that documents my fieldwork that I co-authored with Daniel Gonzales, “Hoosier Latinos: A Century of Struggle, Service, and Success.”
Credit: Wildstyle Paschall for Mirror Indy 
Credit: Wildstyle Paschall for Mirror Indy 
Credit: Wildstyle Paschall for Mirror Indy 
Credit: Wildstyle Paschall for Mirror Indy 
Credit: Wildstyle Paschall for Mirror Indy 
Credit: Wildstyle Paschall for Mirror Indy 
Credit: Wildstyle Paschall for Mirror Indy 
Credit: Wildstyle Paschall for Mirror Indy 
Credit: Wildstyle Paschall for Mirror Indy 
Credit: Wildstyle Paschall for Mirror Indy 
Credit: Wildstyle Paschall for Mirror Indy 
Credit: Wildstyle Paschall for Mirror Indy 
Credit: Wildstyle Paschall for Mirror Indy 
Credit: Wildstyle Paschall for Mirror Indy 
Credit: Wildstyle Paschall for Mirror Indy 
Credit: Wildstyle Paschall for Mirror Indy
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