Arthur Lopez’s work is mesmerizing and intriguing, and with every new piece I find myself searching my own childhood memories of Sunday school to find the story behind it. Of course, whether I know of the particular story or not, I always enjoy researching each one and I thought it would be nice to share my findings on Lopez’s newest piece.
San Juan Diego
- wood and mixed media, 25 x 12.5 x 5 inches
Juan Diego walked every Saturday and Sunday to church, and on cold mornings, wore a woven cloth called a tilma, or ayate made from the maguey cactus. One Saturday morning, as he was walking to church, he heard the sound of birds singing on Tepeyac hill and someone calling his name. He ran up the hill, and there saw a Lady, about fourteen years of age, resembling an Aztec princess in appearance, and surrounded by light. The Lady spoke to him in his native tongue and asked Juan Diego to tell the bishop of Mexico, that she wanted a shrine, to be built on the spot where she stood, in her honor.
Recognizing the Lady as the Virgin Mary, Juan Diego went to the bishop as instructed, but bishop was doubtful and told Juan Diego he needed a sign. Juan Diego returned to Tepeyac hill and explained to the Lady that the bishop did not believe him. He implored the Lady to use another messenger, insisting he was not worthy. The Lady however insisted that it was of the utmost importance that it be Diego speaking to the bishop on her behalf. The Lady promised Juan Diego she would give him a sign the following day and asked him to climb the hill and gather the flowers he found there.
It was December, when normally nothing blooms in the cold. There, Diego found roses. The Lady re-arranged the roses carefully inside the folded tilma that Juan Diego wore and told him not to open it before anyone but the bishop. When Juan Diego unfolded his tilma before the Bishop roses cascaded from his tilma, and an icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe was miraculously impressed on the cloth.
