Today is the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico’s patroness. In a country that prides itself on the separation of church and state, most government workers are off, schools and banks are closed and the stock market shuts down. As much as the powers-that-be would like people to be working today, they know better. You don’t mess with the cult of the Virgin. While it’s origins are obviously in organized religion, the myth is much more profound.

As Octavio Paz said: “ In addition, the Virgin—the universal Mother—is also the intermediary, the messenger, between disinherited man and the unknown, inscrutable power: the Strange.”

“Guadalupe is pure receptivity, and the benefits she bestows are of the same order: she consoles, quiets, dries tears, calms passions.”

I guess that’s why you see Zapatista Guadalupanos, local mechanic Guadalupanos and even atheist Guadalupanos. Not to mention Polaroid portrait booth Guadalupanos.