Christmas starts in La Paz - Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe and Noche Buena

12 December - Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe

When I used to watch telenovelas to help myself learn Spanish, I was frequently confused by the characters constantly praying to the Virgin of Guadalupe. Not being Catholic I had to wonder, was there more than one version of The Virgin?  

I finally got around to researching La Virgen de Guadalupe, and discovered that nope, it was the one and only Virgin who, in 1531 (more or less) appeared to Juan Diego, a native Mexican, on the hill of Tepeyac.  Long story short, she spoke to him in his Nahuatl language asking him to build a church on that site. These things are typically easier said than done, and after a few days of running around, tending to a sick uncle, and trying to convince the local archbishop of the verity of his vision, the Virgin assisted Juan Diego by imprinting an image of herself onto his tilma (cloak). The archbishop became convinced on December 12th and the church was eventually built. That very tilma (supposedly) is now kept at the third most visited religious site in the world, the Guadalupe Basilica which was built in her honor at Tepeyac, north of Mexico City.

The original tilma with the supernaturally imprinted image.(from Wikipedia)

The Virgin of Guadalupe's nickname is La Virgen Morena, The Brown Virgin, and she proved to be an important and convenient liaison between existing native religions and the conquering Catholic church. She was named the patron saint of Mexico and the Americas, and her feast day of December 12th is one of the most important religious holidays in Latin America. La Virgen Morena is seen as the champion for the poor and downtrodden, and is available to all her "children" (all people) who pray to her and ask for her help. That's why she is the most accessible and popular saint to many Mexicans.

The Dia de Guadalupe is the official start to the Christmas holidays in Mexico, and on this night all of La Paz was out in in force; numerous tianguis (open-air markets) had set up shop all over the city, and the Christmas village across the street from our marina was packed with families.

Noche Buena

For the Cinnabarbarians, the official start of Christmas is the release of Bohemia's delicious, limited edition, amber beer. It's called Noche Buena, which is also the name for the poinsettia plant as well as Christmas Eve. Turns out that Noche Buena is cheaper than water! Recently, a new, local brewery started coming to our marina on Wednesdays to sell their beers, which includes a coffee chocolate porter. So Noche Buena for Tom and a tasty porter for me. The porter is called Energía Oscura, or Dark Energy. And yes, it's definitely expanding my universe.

Holiday Amber and universe-expanding Porter

I think we are ready for the holidays!