Inside and outside Marianna Galeno’s home in Wilkes-Barre, performers in bright-colored traditional Mexican costumes prepared for an almost-two mile procession through the city.
They celebrated the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Tuesday. This week, street processions and masses were held throughout the Diocese of Scranton and the region in Guadalupe's honor. In Wilkes-Barre, a family is picked each year to host a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This year, the apparition of Jesus' mother, called Guadalupe, will live with Galeno.
Galeno, through a translator, said hosting Guadalupe is big for her family and provides many miracles.
"She’s a hero in Mexico, wherever we are we make a celebration for her because we love her" she said.
Galeno's son, Ciro Degante, said Tuesday was special for his family.
"In Mexico, all the country celebrates the Virgin of Guadalupe," he said.
According to Catholic lore, in the 1500s, the Virgin Mary appeared to an Indigenous-Mexican peasant near present-day Mexico City. He’s now known as St. Juan Diego. She asked him to go to the archbishop and tell him that the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, asked for a church to be built atop Tepeyac Hill.
At first the archbishop didn't believe St. Juan Diego, he asked for a miraculous sign to prove her identity. Mary appeared to the now-saint again. Next time he visited the archbishop, he brought roses, not native to Mexico, in his cloak. When he opened it up, the roses fell out and an image of the Virgin Mother appeared on his clothing.
The apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary became known as Our Lady of Guadalupe. That manifestation is said to have converted many native people of Mexico to Catholicism.
It’s still an important holiday in Mexico. In the United States, it has become an important day for Mexican-Americans to celebrate their religious and cultural identity.
The statue in Wilkes-Barre was adorned with pink, red and yellow roses on a platform. As the day turned into night, lights illuminated Guadalupe as the devotees carried the statue through the streets of the city. Galeno was in front of the statue, throwing rose petals as she walked.
A band followed the performers through the city playing banda music. Groups of dancers, called the matachines, moved along with the procession.
Chinelo dancers wore long flowing robes embroidered with Guadalupe. Feathers stuck up from their hats that are shaped like upside down lamp shades. They wore masks with a long chin. The costume and the dancers mock Europeans and European mannerisms from the colonial period up to the end of the 19th century.
The procession also featured La Danza de Jaguar. The dance portrays a Mexican legend where a wild, man-eating beast stalks and kills a series of domestic animals with a whip.
The celebration is multi-generational.
"We dance until everything is done," said Carlos Marin. He’s 6 and was dressed like a tiger as part of the Dance of the Jaguar.
"The tigers only slap their thingies, their whips, and they don't dance they just walk," he said.
Aztec dancers also performed the night before the procession and along the route.
The parade grew larger with each block. They crossed the South Side Bridge and ended at St. Nicholas-St. Mary Parish in Wilkes-Barre. The performers danced outside the church.
Inside, children brought flowers and smaller statues of Guadalupe up to the altar where another iteration of the idol was adorned. At 6 p.m. the statue entered the church. Some performers walked on their knees behind Guadalupe on her platform of roses.
The night concluded with a Mass followed by a Feast Day celebration.
