¿No estoy aquí yo, que soy tu madre?
¿Kuix amo nikan nika nimonantzin?
Am I not here, I who am your mother? These are the words enscribed on the front door of Insigne y Nacional Basílica de Santa María de Guadalupe in Mexico City. As her feast day, December 12th, is rapidly approaching, I more often than not see people use this as an opportunity to assert their superiority on something they don\’t know anything about.
Although, I may be a little biased since I am a devotee of Guadalupe myself, I’ll try my best to keep a nuanced perspective. Usually I’ll see posts about how La Virgen de Guadalupe was a colonial tactic for the conquest of the Americas, I have to say
Yes, that’s absolutely true.
La Virgen was used by the conquistadors as a tactic for colonization. But my question is what was the average person supposed to do?
The rebellions were failing and the Spanish were using disease, slavery, and economic strangles to lessen the power of the Mexica. Not everyone was ready to fight and die, some were just focused on surviving and keeping their family alive. So while I can acknowledge that la virgencita has been used for genocidal purposes, this is the world that colonialism has brought into existence and this is what we have to work with. The goal now should be to honor her roots and to remember what we have been through. I’m not Nahua, and though I come from the Coahuilteca, they don’t claim me so I can’t claim them. I am mezclado, what used to be called mestizo. I am a product of colonialism and this is the history I inherited. With that said, the few bits of Tonantzin Coatlicue and her children that have been able to survive, by passing the stories down through the generation or receiving miracles, I am glad for she is still with us. I will honor them the way my family and my ancestors have done throughout history.
Of course, this is not me saying I’m glad colonialism happened, but nonetheless it did happen, and decolonization of the land should always be prioritized.
C/S
