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La Malinche as the Guadalupe with the Three Sisters - Corn, Squash and Beans by Cristina Acosta© |
Indigenous Versions of the Feminine Divine Blend with Spanish Motifs
in this Image of the Guadalupe
Artist Commentary
The Roman Catholic church tells the story of the Aztec Indian, Juan Diego and his encounter on the hill of Tepeyac with the apparition of a beautiful dark-skinned woman who identified herself as the Virgin Mary. As a sign of her true identity, she instructed Juan Diego where to find a rose bush in full bloom, to cut the roses and to carry them to the city of Tenochtitlan and present them to the Spanish clergy in his tilma (poncho or sarape made of plant fiber). in this Image of the Guadalupe
Artist Commentary
When Juan did as she asked, he opened his cape to the bishop and other clergymen who fell to their knees as they saw a picture of the Virgin Mary on his tilma, surrounded with rose blooms. The original image of Guadalupe is replete with symbols and motifs drawn both from indigenous and Christian beliefs and practices. This blend of the European conqueror's Catholic religion with the indigenous culture broke the hold of the Aztec religion in the people's culture and supplanted it with Christianity that focused on the figure of the Feminine Divine.
Though the Guadalupe is traditionally a European Madonna image with brown skin, I imagine her as La Malinche, also referred to as “the mother of the Mexican race” as the model for the Guadalupe. The daughter of an Aztec noble family, Malinche was sold into slavery by her mother. Eventually, she was given to Hernan Cortez, the Spaniard who conquered the Aztec in the sixteenth century. Malinche gave birth to the first official mestizo child.
Thus, the child of the Aztec nation became the mother of the Mexican nation. I included the image of the three sisters (corn, squash and beans) floating on the vital red core of her body to convey the nurturing reality of this earth that feeds all life. As the Guadalupe her straight-forward gaze and open arms convey the beauty of feminine strength, character and integrity. She is transformation and strength imbued with courage and love.
My image of the Guadalupe represents the combination of the Hispanic and Native North American cultures. She is surrounded with pattern of roses drawn into tinted wax medium then covered in thin sheets of copper metal leaf. Instead of an Angel, she is supported upon a sterling silver crescent moon and guided by an eagle. Her mantle is embedded with cut crystals laid in the shapes of constellations as they are over New Mexico during part of the year. Her red gown is overlaid with three plants; corn, squash and beans. These plants are referred to as “the three sisters”, plants that when cultivated in the historic Southwest enabled a village to thrive.
Our Lady of Guadalupe's Feast Day is December 12.
Read the official Catholic version of the Virgen of Guadalupe story here.
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Title: La Malinche as La Guadalupe with the Three Sisters - Corn, Squash and Beans
Size: 42" wide x 60" tall
Medium: Oil; 22kt gold, sterling silver and copper metal leaf; wax; antique ceramic mosaic tile with 24k gold glazes; on vintage wood planks of Ponderosa Pine reclaimed from a 1904 wood mill and formed by an artisan wood worker into a single panel 42”x 60”
