Everywhere Guadalupe

Alameda Street

A recent headline in the New York Times saddened me—Little Spain Is All but Gone. Will Our Lady of Guadalupe Be Next? The church on West 14th Street, the site of one of the most moving expressions of faith I have ever witnessed, has been deconsecrated. Its future is uncertain. In my story Everyday Guadalupe I wrote about my friend Christine and I attending Mass there on a December 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It’s memory that has stayed with me years later.

Aqua Fria near St. Francis

Alto Street

The story also felt poignant because I have been spending a lot of time with the Guadalupe over the last few months.  A practicing Guadalupana I knew that there were several depictions of the Virgen throughout Santa Fe. The Santuario de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe in Santa Fe, built in the late 1700s, is the oldest church in the United States dedicated to the Gaudalupe and she has a special place in the hearts of faithful Santa Feans. But it wasn't until I began a photographic project with the goal of capturing a variety of these more personal shrines that I realized how deeply she is embedded in the cityscape.

Alto Park in the Barrio Analco

I began with a small list including a mural that I had photographed several years ago and a few others I had sighted around town. The more attention I paid the longer my list grew. Still, I surprised myself with my improved ability to find the Guadalupes and was reminded of what Rob Walker describes in his book, The Art of Noticing and in his engaging Substack of the same name.  Over time my casual noting of the images became a practice, and I was further rewarded. My list has expanded to over 20 beautiful depictions of Our Lady, all within a few miles of our home.

Cordova Street

Paseo de Peralta

Sharing my project concept with friends, I soon had a noticing team sending me photos, locations and even a flyer for a "Where's Lupita" walking tour. I have checked out @whereslupita on Instagram and know I will be with like-spirited people when I join the tour next Saturday.

Luptia with the red handprint, a symbol of resistance and solidarity with missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

In addition to my noticing practice, I have been researching, learning more about why the Guadalupe has become such powerful icon here, throughout the Southwest and in Mexico. Beyond the traditional religious images, contemporary artists visually reimagine her within a feminist context. This is due in part because the Guadalupe's shine in Mexico City, built on the hill where the Virgen appeared, is the same hill where a temple to Tonantzin the Aztec Earth goddess and serpent destroyer once stood. There is a deep syncretic connection between the Aztec goddess and the Mexican Saint. And I have my own connection to the goddess as I am told Mexican women named Tonantzin, are often nicknamed Nancy.

Sandoval Street

What began as simple project has become a practice. As I expand my search beyond Santa Fe, north to Espanola and Chimayo and south to Cerrillos and Albuquerque it feels increasingly like a quest.

The statue of the Virgen of Guadalupe in front of the Santuario, created by Mexican artist La Señora Georgina Farias, like many migrants, was held at border for days because her paperwork wasn’t in order. When she finally arrived in Santa Fe, she was greeted by over a 1,000 people .