My mother took this picture when I was 2 years old; It was less than a year before my family immigrated to the United States. The picture was taken on December 12, 1999, on the day that the Virgin of Guadalupe is venerated nationally in Mexico. I was dressed in the traditional clothing of the native Mexican people. A sculpture of the Virgin of Guadalupe is displayed behind me along with red and white Poinsettias. The story of the Virgin of Guadalupe is one almost every Mexican knows. She appeared to an indigenous Mexican man named Juan Diego and was ordered to seek the Archbishop of Mexico City to deliver a message which stated that a chapel was to be built in her honor on a hill called El Tepeyac. In a later apparition, he was ordered to gather roses from the hill in an area that usually didn’t blossom, especially in the winter. He carried the roses in his cloak and the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe was imprinted on it when he removed the roses. The cloak with the image hangs in display in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City. This picture is special to me because being Catholic isn’t just about religion, it’s a part of the culture in Mexico. My parents named me Hannia Guadalupe in her honor and it’s the main part of our lives that hasn’t changed since we immigrated.

– Hannia Delgado

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