Annual Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — From Dec. 10 to 12, Las Cruces celebrated faith, heritage and cultural pride with the Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

This annual three-day event is hosted by The Shrine and Parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It marks the days the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, or Juan Diego, on Tepeyac Hill outside Mexico City. In the story, the Virgin was said to have astonishingly marked her image onto his cloak to show proof of her presence.

This year, the Parish’s activities are led by the team of Mayordomas and Mayordomos Jeannette Castillo, Mike Molina, Irene Gonzales and Briton Mowles. Rudy Nevarez is also this year’s Capitan de la Guerra, or War Chief, who is primarily in charge of the dancers. Each hold their own unique meaning of what this time of year means to them.

Each of their families has been in Las Cruces participating in this event for multiple generations. For them, this is not only a spiritual connection with The Lady of Guadalupe, but a deep and rich history of tradition. Holding these leadership positions fills the team with a sense of responsibility and honor.

“We are carrying on a long family tradition,” Castillo said. “It is a big honor for us to follow in our ancestors’ footsteps.”

Although the Parish is not the only one that celebrates this event in the city, it is the only one that hosts the full feast, has four different dance groups and sponsors the mountain for the pilgrimage. The preparations and behind-the-scenes work for the event have been going on all year, while final touches started in late September.

“We work all year for three days,” Molina said with a laugh.

Some of the work they must manage includes finances for the food, church, flowers and choir. They also coordinate with NMSU and the Bureau of Land Management to ensure they have access to the mountain as well as safety measures with EMTs, the Chief and state police department. This event is not done by the team alone, but with an abundance of volunteers and local families stepping up to help in any way they can along the way.

“There’s five of us here, but there’s 50 behind us,” Nevarez said. “It is a lot of volunteering of time, talent and treasure of people behind us.”

From when the team of Mayordomas and Mayordomos were children, the event has gotten more difficult to manage. One of the main differences is the time people are able to commit to such a big event like this. With families moving out of Las Cruces for better careers, starting families and joining the military, everyone has developed more time commitments toward things outside of the church. However, harvesting a younger generation to teach the traditions to and to help them learn to one day lead is an important thing for them.

“We bring them in and we welcome them and we make them feel like they belong so that way they can say, that feels like home there,” Gonzales said. “I want to be a part of that.”

Within the leadership team, their own families have made efforts to follow in their footsteps and take the steps to show up and help. The Nevarez family would come down every weekend to help support, as well as Castillo’s son, who came from out of town in order to dedicate 10 full days at the church. It fills them with pride to see their families recognize the importance and the traditions that are steeped in the fiesta.

“That’s who you are,” Molina said. “This is where you come from. Feast day is that connection back to where you’re from.”

The team is not the only ones who show dedication to the fiesta, but many locals do as well. Frances Ruiz has been coming to the fiesta for over 68 years. This tradition has been passed down for almost five generations in her family.

“La Virgen de Guadalupe, she’s always helped me for everything,” Ruiz said. “I’m happy to come until the day I die.”

The event follows a three-day schedule. The first day consists of the moving of the statue of the Lady of Guadalupe from La Capilla to La Casa del Pueblo, followed by mass and dances. On day two, the statue is moved from the La Casa del Pueblo to the Santuario, followed by the pilgrimage. Day three is the feast, and on Thursday, Jan. 1, the statue is moved from the Santuario back to the La Capilla till next year’s events.

Although the team is excited to rest after the event was over, it was filled with bittersweet feelings.

“We’ve been through a lot in the last two years,” Nevarez said. “It’s just been a joy overcoming a lot of those stuff we had to do. Making some of the hard decisions we had to make. But altogether it’s just been fun. It’s worth it.”