Long before the arrival of Hernán Cortés, birds, serpents, the sun and moon, and human sacrifices figured prominently in the rituals and daily spiritual life of the inhabitants of today's Mexico. In the early sixteenth century, Roman Catholic missionaries began arriving in the area of Tenochtitlan--Mexico City--to convert the native Mexica to Christianity. The priests met with limited success until 1531, the year Juan Diego, a poor Mexica, first encountered the vision of the "Heavenly Lady," now known as "Our Lady of Guadalupe."

Guadalupe is a lavishly illustrated history of Mexico's religious traditions. Touching briefly on the pre-Columbian decades of many ... Read moredeities, Carla Zarebska devotes most of the book to the post-colonial centuries of Catholicism, the Madre of modern Mexico, and the traditions and legends surrounding her. Primitive drawings and black-and-white photos from the early twentieth century depict natives honoring the Lady, and full color photos and paintings commemorate events and individuals from Mexico's history, including the Virgin Mary's appearances to Juan Diego. Over a dozen pages offer the story of Guadalupe's appearances in the native Nahuatl accompanied by the English translation.