BRONX, N.Y. \u2014 The Virgin of Guadalupe has long been a powerful religious symbol for Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. Now it also has become an important political symbol in their push for immigration reform. <\/p>\n
Lehman Professor of Latin American and Puerto Rican Studies Alyshia G\u00e1lvez explores that symbolism in her most recent book, Guadalupe in New York: Devotion and the Struggle for Citizenship Rights Among Mexican Immigrants (New York: NYU Press, 2009). Using ethnographic research to illuminate Catholicism as practiced by Mexicans in New York, she studies how religion and politics intersect in the activities of undocumented Mexicans as they struggle to gain U.S. citizenship. <\/p>\n
While conducting research in Northern Chile\u2019s desert region, Professor G\u00e1lvez became interested in religious brotherhoods. \u201cThese organizations were some of the only groups that continued to assemble throughout the 17 years of military dictatorship,\u201d she says. \u201cI knew there was something deeply empowering and even political about these organizations, even while they told me they were interested only in paying homage to their patron saint.\u201d<\/p>\n
In New York City, Professor G\u00e1lvez found very similar organizations with an explicitly activist stance, organizations called Guadalupan Committees that are parish-based groups dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe and the empowerment of their members. Every December 12, for example, thousands of Mexican immigrants gather at New York City\u2019s St. Patrick\u2019s Cathedral for the mass in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe\u2019s feast day. They kiss images of the Virgin, wait for a bishop\u2019s blessing\u2014and they also carry signs asking for immigration reform, much like political protestors.<\/p>\n
Professor G\u00e1lvez adds that it is through Guadalupan devotion that many undocumented immigrants are finding both the will and the vocabulary to demand rights, immigration reform and respect. \u201cI hope that readers will come to have a greater appreciation for the incredible efforts immigrants in our city make to be heard and respected,” she says, “and the urgency of comprehensive immigration reform.\u201d<\/p>\n
Contact: Keisha-Gaye Anderson \/ 718-960-8013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BRONX, N.Y. \u2014 The Virgin of Guadalupe has long been a powerful religious symbol for Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. Now it also has become an important political symbol in their push for immigration reform. Lehman Professor of Latin American and Puerto Rican Studies Alyshia G\u00e1lvez explores that symbolism in her most recent book, Guadalupe in New […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4039,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-308187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4039"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308187\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}