Inspiration

For hundreds of years, On the hill of Tepeyac in modern day Mexico, The Mexica ( Aztec) people had been leaving offerings in a temple dedicated to one their most important manifestation of nature: Tonanztin.

Also known as "Mother Earth", “Bringer of Maize" and "Mother of Corn”. Today, on the same hill stands the church that’s holds the Guadalupe. Built by the Spanish shortly after the conquest. It is here that the story of The Virgin Mary of Guadalupe takes place.

Here she appears to an Indigenous man named Juan Diego in 1531. Juan described her as brown skinned and spoke to him in his native Nahuatl language. From this encounter comes the mantle with the famous image of the Virgin of Guadalupe.

The image has strong symbolism that is closely tied to Tonanztin.

This type of merger of beliefs was not only syncretism but also a form of resistance. If one looks deeper in todays practices and ceremonies , one can see the indigenous people never truly converted but continued to practice in secret.