{"id":24409,"date":"2024-12-14T17:06:06","date_gmt":"2024-12-15T00:06:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/millions-mark-virgin-of-guadalupe-day-calls-for-a-truce-go-unheeded\/"},"modified":"2024-12-15T00:06:06","modified_gmt":"2024-12-15T00:06:06","slug":"millions-mark-virgin-of-guadalupe-day-calls-for-a-truce-go-unheeded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/millions-mark-virgin-of-guadalupe-day-calls-for-a-truce-go-unheeded\/","title":{"rendered":"Millions mark Virgin of Guadalupe Day; calls for a truce go unheeded"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Pilgrims
Pilgrims gather outside of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages marking the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo\/Fernando Llano)<\/span>Fernando Llano<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

MEXICO CITY \u2013 Millions of faithful gathered to mark Mexico\u2019s Virgin of Guadalupe Day, honoring the country\u2019s patron saint. But calls by the Roman Catholic Church for a truce in Mexico\u2019s ongoing cartel violence apparently went unheeded as more dead bodies were found in the country on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Enormous crowds gathered early in the day, singing the traditional Mexican birthday song \u201cLas ma\u00f1anitas\u201d at Mexico City\u2019s Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe to honor the virgin on the 493rd anniversary of her apparition in 1531.<\/p>\n

Mariachi bands and traditional dance groups were also present at the basilica, which has a mix of modern and colonial-era architecture.<\/p>\n

\"A
A pilgrim sleeps on the Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica plaza during one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages, marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo\/Fernando Llano)<\/span>Fernando Llano<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Pilgrims
Pilgrims gather in the plaza of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica, in one of the world's largest religious pilgrimages marking the feast day of the patroness of Latin America, in Mexico City, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024. (AP Photo\/Fernando Llano)<\/span>Fernando Llano<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Pilgrims
Pilgrims gather outside of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe a day before her feast day in Mexico City, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (AP Photo\/Fernando Llano)<\/span>Fernando Llano<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Mar\u00eda Luisa V\u00e1zquez Mendoza, a 33-year-old homemaker, walked for 16 hours from the neighboring State of Mexico to visit the basilica on the capital\u2019s north side and give thanks \u201cfor another year of life, and that my family is all right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou feel joy in your heart when you see the gates of the basilica so close,\u201d said V\u00e1zquez Mendoza. \u201cYour body relaxes completely. You don\u2019t feel pain or tiredness anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, the Mexican Council of Bishops wrote an editorial calling for \u201ca halt to the armed violence and hostile statements.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a country where violence has left painful wounds in families and polarization among the public, this is a proposal to reflect, and act in favor of reconciliation and human dignity,\u201d the council wrote on a church website, Desde la Fe.<\/p>\n

But in the north-central state of Guanajuato \u2013 which has the highest number of homicides of any of Mexico\u2019s 32 states \u2013 the day was possibly even more violent than usual.<\/p>\n

Police and prosecutors said a total of 15 dead bodies were found on the streets in various cities in Guanajuato, warning the death toll may be higher. In one macabre location, a pile of human remains was discovered on a highway near the city of Salvatierra but authorities were still investigating how many victims it contained.<\/p>\n

Local media said parts of hacked-up human bodies were left in black garbage bags in the back of a pickup truck with a banner signed by a drug cartel.<\/p>\n

In Guanajuato in 2023 there were an average of 8.5 homicides a day, according to official figures.<\/p>\n

V\u00e1zquez Mendoza said she hoped the call for truce might still influence people \u201cto be a little more human, more conscious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over 11 million worshippers had visited the Basilica in the days leading up to the annual celebration of Mexico\u2019s patroness, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Many had walked from distant villages, others rode on bicycles or buses to reach the Basilica\u2019s enormous patio, where a sea of tents held pilgrims who had slept overnight to greet the virgin in the morning.<\/p>\n

The cold temperature, long walks and the wait to see the virgin\u2019s cloak inside the Basilica did not discourage them. Many of the pilgrims walked the last mile or so carrying flowers or large paintings of the virgin.<\/p>\n

According to church tradition, in 1531, the dark-skinned virgin appeared to the Indigenous peasant Juan Diego and her image was imprinted on his cloak, which is on display inside the church. Juan Diego was made a saint in 2002 by Pope John Paul II.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, those who have asked for help from the Virgin of Guadalupe come in a sign of appreciation. Some, like street vendor Christofer Hern\u00e1ndez, completed the last stretch to the Basilica barefoot or on their knees.<\/p>\n

Arturo Rivas was one of 200 people who made the pilgrimage on bicycle from the nearby state of Tlaxacala, a ride of over 60 miles (100 kilometers).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are excited to come year after year,\u201d Rivas said. \u201cThis is what our parents taught us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mexican Council of Bishops called a halt to drug violence<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-24409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24409\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24409"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=24409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}