The
Mural
and
Shrine
The
shrine
has
two,
mosaic-style
images,
one
facing
the
Hollywood
Freeway
(101)
and
the
other
facing
the
Plaza.
Garcia
chose
talavera
(Mexican
tile)
because
of
its
look,
feel
and
durability
and
because
of
the
tradition
it
has
for
the
past
one
hundred
years
in
Mexico.
Garcia
used
local
soil
from
Puebla,
Mexico,
the
birthplace
of
talavera,
to
make
the
clay
for
the
mural
and
shrine.
It
was
painstakingly
molded,
shaped
and
cut
by
local
artisans
to
his
exact
specifications.
Each
talavera
was
placed
into
a
kiln
oven
for
twelve
hours,
removed,
glazed
and
hand
painted
with
a
color
palette
of
paints
derived
from
various
minerals
found
near
Puebla,
then
again
placed
in
the
kiln
for
another
twelve
hours.
"I
wanted
to
make
the
tile
from
Mexican
soil,
Mexican
clay,
labored
over
by
Mexican
hands,"
he
says.
The
twelve
foot
replica
that
faces
the
freeway
is
of
the
original,
centuries
old
image
of
Our
Lady
of
Guadalupe,
as
it
has
been
enshrined
at
the
Basilica
of
Tepeyac
in
Mexico
City.
Three
panels
forming
a
triptych
shrine
face
the
main
Plaza.
"My
dearest
and
youngest
son,"
as
the
Blessed
Mother
called
Juan
Diego,
is
on
the
left
side
of
Our
Lady
of
Guadalupe.
He
is
kneeling,
inviting
us
to
speak
with
Mary
and
reminding
us
of
the
relationship
he
had
with
her
during
the
apparitions.
The
image
of
an
eagle
appears
near
his
shoulder
and
represents
Juan
Diego's
Nahuatl
name,
"Cuauhtla
Toatzin,"
which
translates
to,
"He
who
speaks
like
an
eagle."
copyright
missionlatina.com |
In the center
panel is the stylized tilma with the digital image of
the Blessed Mother. The last time a photographer was allowed
to photograph the original image at the Basilica in Mexico City
was in the early 1960s. Not until the early 1990s was a photographer
allowed to create an identical digital image.
|
The
digital
image
was
blessed
by
Pope
John
Paul
II
and
toured
different
parishes
throughout
Los
Angeles
for
three
years
before
being
installed
at
the
Cathedral.
Many
people
in
Los
Angeles
have
touched
it.
"The
real
value
of
the
digital
image
is
the
value
the
people
have
given
to
it,"
says
Garcia.
Mary's
cape
is
held
by
two
angels,
one
Aztec,
one
Spanish,
to
remind
us
of
the
encounter
of
the
Indian
and
the
European
and
the
birth
of
the
mestizo,
the
Mexican.
The
angels
also
continue
to
remind
us
that
the
Blessed
Mother
descended
from
the
heavens.
The
third
panel
is
a
collage
of
the
Angelenos,
faces
from
united,
but
multiethnic
groups,
including
a
special
needs
child
with
Down's
Syndrome,
that
make
up
Los
Angeles.
Therefore,
in
the
shrine,
Our
Lady
is
portrayed
with
her
favorite
son,
Juan
Diego,
but
also
with
all
the
children
of
the
world.
The
words
printed
on
the
third
panel
refer
to
the
statement
made
by
Pope
Benedict
XIV
in
1754
when
a
copy
of
the
miraculous
picture
was
first
shown
to
him,
"Non
fecit
talliter
omni
nationi"
("He
hath
not
dealt
so
with
any
other
nation,")
applying
to
the
Mexican
people
this
verse
from
Psalm
147:20.
The
verse
referred
to
Our
Lady
of
Guadalupe's
protection
over
New
Spain
and
today
extends
to
the
diversity
of
all
peoples
in
America.
This
saying
encompasses
the
honor
that
those
born
in
North
America
have
felt
because
of
this
manifestation
of
preference.
Historically
this
helps
to
explain
why
the
phrase
spread
so
rapidly
and
why
today
it
is
still
embraced
in
representations
of
the
Virgin
of
Guadalupe.
The
Candle
Stands
 |
The
two
candle
stands
on
each
side
of
the
shrine
an
are
decorated
with
Aztec
motifs
symbolizing
strength
and
belief.
They
can
hold
200
candles
each.
The
design
is
sculpted
in
a
bas-relief
on
traditional
Mexican
stone.
|
History
Behind
Our
Lady
of
Guadalupe
 |
Historically,
Our
Lady
of
Guadalupe
plays
an
important
role
in
the
beginning
of
the
Mexican
people.
She
appeared
to
Juan
Diego
twelve
years
after
the
Spanish
conquest
by
Hernando
Cortez
in
1519.
By
this
time
the
Spanish
Creoles
and
Indians
had
intermingled.
They
were
a
mixture,
a
new
product
of
America,
the
Mexican.
The
Aztecs,
however,
were
orphans
in
faith
because
all
their
temples
had
been
destroyed.
They
had
no
will
to
live.
|
Our
Lady's
appearance
gave
them
hope
and
guidance.
Diego
recognized
Guadalupe
as
the
Mother
of
God
through
the
symbolism
and
colors
on
her
tilma.
For
example,
the
four-petal
flower
on
her
tunic
was
interpreted
by
the
Aztecs
to
represent
Nahui
Ollin.
The
hieroglyphic
of
Nahui
Ollin
symbolizes
"four
movement"
and
is
directly
related
to
the
crosssticks
of
the
new
fire
used
in
the
ceremony
at
the
end
of
the
Aztec
fifty-two-year
cycle.
Because
the
flower
can
be
seen
on
the
womb
of
the
Virgin,
it
helped
the
indigenous
people
to
understand
that
the
Blessed
Mother
was
carrying
a
new
life.
The
Creoles
also
saw
symbolism
used
when
they
were
in
Spain.
They
recognized
Extremadura,
a
statue
that
looked
like
Our
Lady
of
Guadalupe,
from
the
southwestern
Spanish
town
of
Medellin
where
Cortez
was
born.
Everything
in
the
image
has
meaning
to
be
studied,
the
stars,
embroidery,
rays,
moon
and
angel.
In
1810
the
Mexican
father
of
independence,
Catholic
priest,
Miguel
Hildalgo
y
Costilla,
used
the
Guadalupe
image
as
a
banner
of
the
revolutionary
forces,
as
did
the
priest
José
Ma.
Morelos
y
Pavon
during
the
battles.
One
hundred
years
later
during
the
Mexican
Revolution,
the
peasant
Emiliano
Zapata
used
the
Guadalupe
flag.
More
recently
Cesar
Chavez
and
the
farm
workers
used
the
image
in
their
protest
for
human
rights.
Guadalupe
has
been
a
power
for
goodness
for
the
Mexican
people.
Installation
of
the
Shrine
Artist Lalo Garcia
considers that finding the installer of the Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine
was verification that "the hand of God is working." As he
looked for a male model with Spanish roots for one of the angel's faces,
he met the young man's father, who owns a tile company in San Fernando,
California.
| The
man had traveled to Spain to meet with architect Rafael Moneo
to see if he could do work for the Cathedral of Our Lady of the
Angels, to contribute his time and talents, "Even if it was
a bathroom for which I would donate my tile and, naturally, install
it." His request got lost in the confusion of the mammoth
Cathedral construction.
The man became
excited when Garcia told him he was designing the shrine and exclaimed,
"You know, for two years I've been trying to do something
for this Cathedral, and now you come in." So he asked, "Do
you have anybody who is willing to install the murals?"
When Garcia said he had someone in mind, the man said, "Well,
tell them 'no' because I am going to do this myself." |
|
 |
The man is in his
50s and has been working with tile since the age of nine in Spain, and
now he has installed the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the Cathedral
Plaza. His son is the Spanish angel. The man is thrilled.
There
are
many
qualified
installers,
"but
to
find
somebody
that
would
do
it
with
the
love
that
this
man
has,
that,
I
think,"
says
Garcia,
"was
a
miracle
in
itself."
Learn
more
about
the
ARTIST.
