Santa Ana Celebrates a Mix of Cultures

The Virgin Mary smiled down on the streets of Santa Ana Sunday. Not just once, but four times: at several corners along 4th Street and near a band shell in a parking lot off Spurgeon Street.

“This is almost as big as Christmas,” declared Jaime Soto, auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Orange.

It was the beginning of the annual feast for Our Lady of Guadalupe. The event itself is celebrated by Mexican Catholics and throughout the world every Dec. 12. But the celebration begins ten days earlier with a procession through the streets and the reenactment of a drama.

“It’s very important,” Soto said, “because it reaffirms our faith and our culture and how they can communicate joy and hope to others.”

The festival commemorates the day in 1531 when, Mexican Catholics believe, a dark-skinned Virgin Mary--speaking in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs--appeared to Indian peasant Juan Diego in what later became Mexico City. As proof of her visit, believers say, she left her image on his cloak--a relic now in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.

The event is significant, according to Soto, because it represents a mixing of languages and cultures; initially of the Spanish and Indian roots that evolved into modern Mexico and, more recently, the mixing of cultures worldwide, especially in places like Southern California, where immigrants have made their presence felt.

“What it tells us,” the bishop said, “is that we should feel proud for what God has given us--our culture and our language--and that we should use it as a gift of joy and hope to others. This is even more critical with what we are experiencing in the world today--the conflict of cultures and language.”

In the streets of Santa Ana, hundreds of onlookers cheered as that message was brought home by a procession featuring Soto, dancers in colorful Aztec costumes, young people dressed as monks, a painted portrait of Our Lady of Guadalupe and a Mexican band.

Along the way, portions of the drama were reenacted at four locations, each presided over by a smiling young woman portraying the Virgin Mary amid a painted backdrop of cactus and sun. At the first stop, the virgin makes her initial appearance before the quaking Juan Diego, who can hardly believe his eyes. Later he tells the bishop, but is not believed. The third stop features a scene in which Mary reveals herself again, instructing Diego to build her a church. And finally, at the last stop, Diego opens his robe for the bishop to see, revealing the miracle of the holy image on the material as a live white dove escapes toward the sky.

Many of those present said the ritual reminded them of home.

“I used to do this with my mom,” said Elena Cisneros, who emigrated from Mexico 11 years ago. “It makes me feel connected to my family.”

Even for those born in the United States, the cultural connection can be strong.

“It reminds me of my ancestors,” said Christian Montenegro, 25, of Anaheim. “I’ve heard about this since I was a little kid. I get goose bumps when I see those dancers.”

Lupe Guillen, 19, of Santa Ana could identify with that reaction. “It means a lot in our religion,” she said. “It feels special to have these traditions here in the U.S.”