by Ben Quach ’27
As we enter December, many holidays and celebrations are around the corner: Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s, just to name a few. But there’s one that the school has historically celebrated every year on campus, for more than ten years: Fiesta de Guadalupe.
I talked with Mr. Jiménez, director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging at Bellarmine, about this celebration.
Fiesta de Guadalupe commemorates the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe to Juan Diego in 1531. It’s a story deeply connected to Latin America’s history. After the Spanish colonized what is modern-day Mexico and conquered the Aztec Empire, they began the process of converting the indigenous people to Catholicism. Juan Diego, an indigenous, Aztec man, was climbing the Hill of Tepeyac when the Virgin appeared to him. “Legend says that she had darker skin, so she looked like the people of Mexico at the time,” said Mr. Jiménez. She asked him to tell the people her story and how she was here for all of them, and requested he build her a shrine upon the Hill. He tells the bishop about what he saw, but he doesn’t believe an Indigenous man. The Virgin told Juan Diego to gather roses in his garment, and he goes back to the bishop. When he throws down the roses, the Virgin appears, and the bishop finally believes him.
In Mexico City, where the original shrine was built, there’s the original 500-year-old image that depicts the story. Mr. Jiménez has a copy in his office.
“She’s a significant virgin – she was the mother of the Americas, so she’s very significant in Mexico, but throughout Latin America as well. – It’s a big deal.”
Bellarmine’s celebration will take place this coming Sunday, December 10th. “We have a bilingual mass, and then we have music and food, and it’s a community event. It’s an opportunity for people to come together. People who have Latin American heritage, it’s great – they come, and they feel a sense of connection.” But you don’t have to be Latino to come on Sunday. Anyone can come and “experience a celebration from a different culture.”
The mass will be held in Leontyne Chapel, while the rest of the event will be in Liccardo. We have LSU (Latino Student Union) and a group of parents to thank for putting this together.
I asked Mr. Jiménez what the most important part of the celebration is for him. He responded, “For a lot of families that have migrated here, she is a symbol of hope, she’s a symbol of connection to one’s family, to community, to your home. I’m an immigrant myself – I was born in Mexico – and even though, I’m not 100% super religious, I see this image, and I feel something. There’s a very deep connection to history and identity and culture. For folks that were born in another part and are not able to be back in their homeland, it’s an opportunity to recreate something you would do back home. And so, you get an opportunity to do it here. And maybe there’s students that were born here and they’re American. But that’s their heritage. It’s an opportunity for people to connect to their heritage. So, for me, I’m just grateful that Bellarmine has this type of opportunity so that I can get that sort of like deep connection to who I am on campus.”
He enjoys watching as students participate and get excited about these kinds of celebrations. “It’s very beautiful, like families coming together, so it gives me a lot of joy.” He oversees a lot of other celebrations, like last month’s Diwali. He revels in the cultural connections of these events, something he hopes everyone can experience with their culture.