An Aztec Saint

The blending of Aztec and Spanish religious traditions began soon after the spanish conquest. in 1524, an aztec farmer was converted to roman catholicism by missionaries. they gave him the spanish name Juan Diego (1474-1548).

On December 9, 1531, Diego was walking from his village to attend mass in Tenochtit-lan. As he passed Tepeyac Hill, a woman's voice called him to the top of the hill. There he saw a beautiful young woman dressed like an Aztec princess. She spoke to him in Nahuatl and said she was the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. She asked Diego to tell the local bishop to build a church on that site.

The bishop asked Diego to bring him a sign that proved his vision was real. He returned to Tepeyac Hill. it was the winter, but Diego found Castilian roses (which do not grow in Mexico, but do grow in Spain).

He picked a bunch and brought them to the bishop.

When Diego presented the roses, his cloak fell open and an image of the Virgin Mary was imprinted on it. Soon after, a church was built on the site where she had appeared. it happened to be the same place where there had been an Aztec temple dedicated to Tonantzin, the mother earth goddess. Earlier, the bishop had ordered this temple to be destroyed.

The image is known as the Virgin of Guadalupe, and a very large church called Our Lady of Guadalupe now stands in Mexico City where Diego had his vision.

In 2002, Pope John Paul ii (1920-2005), the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, made Juan Diego the first indigenous American saint. During part of the ceremony, the pope spoke in Nahuatl. He also recognized the importance of Aztec culture in Mexican Catholicism.

And cities. The largest city is Mexico City, built on the ruins of the Aztec cities of Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco.

Within Mexico, poverty and the rights of indigenous people continue to be major issues. The country is a major oil producer and has a ready market for its oil in the United States. Nearly a third of government money comes from the oil industry.

In addition, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) opened the Mexican market to major investments. U. S. companies invested more than $148 billion in Mexico, building factories and tourist facilities. Oil and NAFTA have improved the Mexican economy, but the money remains in the hands of the wealthy and poverty continues.