Page 11 - Guadalupe of Mexico in Spain

Section 09. Place, memory and location: the shrine

Painting of Castas, View of the Collegiate Church of Guadalupe and View of the Paseo de la Viga

Luis de Mena (act. mid-18th century)
Oil on canvas
c. 1750
Madrid, Museo de América

The mountainous terrain of Tepeyac was considered a holy place even before the arrival of the Spaniards.
After the conquest, it became renowned as the site of the apparitions of the Virgin of Guadalupe and the
location of a well of curative water. As a sacred territory, it attracted pilgrims who went to visit the sites
that featured in the narrative and hold processions in honour of the Virgin. The pictures of the shrine
clearly identified the main buildings and functioned as a visual memento, since faith was strengthened
and activated by a reminder of the visit. They occasionally also included a representation of the varied
populace brought together by this object of worship.