Parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Bloomington this year will sing happy birthday to the Virgen of Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe) with a mariachi band.
St. Mary's, on Bloomington's west side, will host two services Friday, Dec. 12, for its Virgen of Guadalupe celebration.
"We start at 5 in the morning with the Chichimeca dance," an Aztec ritual where the dancers wear traditional attire, "and the choir sings to the Virgin, and there will be a mariachi," said Maribel Arias, a parishioner of over 25 years at St. Mary's, whose faithful include a large Hispanic population.
A tamales and sweet bread with hot chocolate breakfast will be served.
The celebration at St. Mary became a tradition some years before Arias became a parishioner, she said.
"It's been going on for many years, and this celebration belongs to everyone. It is an act of devotion and gratitude," Arias said.
The Virgen of Guadalupe tradition has its origins in a pre-Hispanic sanctuary on the Hill of Tepeyac, according to the Institute of Historical Research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. The story goes that the Virgen of Guadalupe, or Virgin Mary, spoke to an Indigenous man named Juan Diego while he was walking on Dec. 9, 1531. This was the first of four apparitions, according to the legend.
"We have about five or six people acting out the apparitions in a play," which will take place at 5 in the afternoon after Mass, said Arias. "The actors are members of the church, and they rehearse for several months."
The traditional dance will be repeated, and a dinner will be provided at the conclusion of the celebration. The mariachi is not scheduled in the afternoon.
For those who cannot attend, Arias invites them to offer a prayer wherever they are.
"The Virgin of Guadalupe listens to us wherever we are, as long as we do it with heart and with faith," Arias said.
