A late-19th century image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Queen of Mexico and Patroness of the Americas. She's everyone's mother. There's a saying in Mexico: "No todos somos católicos, pero todos somos guadalupanos" ('Not everyone is Catholic, but everyone loves Our Lady of Guadalupe'.)
In Mexico, el Día de la Mamá (Mother's Day) is celebrated every year on May 10. Whether the day falls on a weekend or mid-week, it's every family's mother's special event, and it's a red-letter day, a huge occasion. If one lives in a town or city other than where mother lives, one goes home. If one is married, the question is always 'con la mamá, o con la suegra, o qué hacemos!' (do we go to Mom's, or to the mother-in-law, or what do we do!)".
Women are depicted in every way possible, in materials, styles, and atmospheres. Let's look at some--in honor of all of our mothers.
His mother, painted by Rodolfo Morales, 20th century artist (May 8, 1925 - January 30, 2001) from Ocotlán de Morelos, Oaxaca.
Tortillando y comadreando (making tortillas and gossiping), Morelia, December 2007.
Sayaca (transvestite clown), Carnaval (Mardi Gras), Ajijic, Jalisco 2004.
Native dance costume, Chiapas 2003.
Corn Mother, huipil (a traditional indigenous blouse) installation by Lena Bartula, La Huipilista, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. The entire huipil is made of totomoxtle stitched onto hemp. Totomoxtle are dried corn husks, normally rehydrated and used to wrap tamales for steaming. Photo courtesy Lena Bartula.
This hand-painted image recently appeared on the outside wall of a house that neighbors mine, in Morelia, Michoacán. Below the painting of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe is written, "And am I not here, I who am your mother?" When the indigenous man Juan Diego saw her initially, in December 1531, she spoke those words to him to give him peace in place of the fear he experienced in the face of something so unusual. At the lowest part of the image, the painter wrote, "Everyone's virgin.". Take heart: "Am I not here, I who am your mother?"
Graciela Alejo, Morelia, Michoacán 2007. Graciela is the daughter of a long-time friend, traditional cook Benedicta Alejo from San Lorenzo, Michoacán.
Lila Downs, Mexican-American singer, in concert, Guadalajara, Jalisco, November 2005.
Two young Purépecha women showing off their beautiful embroidery. Paracho, Michoacán, September 2010.
My own mother at two, with a toy lion, 1924. She died in 2003 and I miss her every day. Here's to you, Mother, on this Mother's Day.
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