With a cane in her hand and a promise in her heart, only a mile-and-a-half walk stood between 92-year-old Teresa Morales and her destination.
“Even though my knees hurt, I must walk,” said Morales, who goes by “Mama Coco,” as she walked down Cesar Chavez Avenue Dec. 7 at this year’s 94th annual Guadalupe procession from Our Lady of Solitude Church to East Los Angeles College Stadium.
Morales said she attends the procession every year out of appreciation for Our Lady of Guadalupe, with a desire to keep her family’s tradition alive.
The Sunday morning walk suggested Morales was doing something right: wearing a traditional Mexican vestment with her hair styled in two braids, Morales was accompanied by her daughter as she walked, while her sons participated in traditional Mexican dance nearby.
Family stories like Morales’ may help explain why, despite fears of low turnout related to recent immigration raids, 20,000 Catholics still turned out for this year’s procession.
“Latinos care about their mothers and grandmothers, so when they realize how important Mother Mary is, she resonates with them,” said Hiram Romero, a catechist at Our Lady Help of Christians in Lincoln Heights, one of 30 parishes that brought colorful handmade carts with framed images of Guadalupe to the procession.
Romero has been coming to the pilgrimage for more than 15 years. As a child, his mother used to dress him up for the occasion. Now, he dresses his own kids for it, while bringing the parish’s confirmation class and youth group.
“If we don’t bring them, they [will] never get to see what it’s like to be part of this culture because it’s a cultural and a spiritual experience,” said Romero.
Just a few steps away, a few of Romero’s students shared laughs as they walked to the stadium in their Guadalupe swag.
“For me, the ‘Virgencita’ is something more than just a name,” said Andrew Zaragoza, who wore a hoodie with an imprint of Our Lady of Guadalupe. “It’s something that keeps me going.” He recalled praying the rosary with his grandma as a small child.
“I would always pray, and those prayers would always come true. So, I never lost faith.”
His two friends, Angel Bravo and Anthony Ruvalcaba, told Angelus that “it’s time for us to start taking over and leading these bigger roles that our parents or anyone older than us have taken” to keep devotion to Guadalupe alive. One of them was dressed as St. Juan Diego, the other had on a poncho with a symbol of Mary.
As the young men spoke, people on the sidewalk cheered, and chants to Our Lady of Guadalupe filled the air as the crowd moved closer to the stadium, where Archbishop José H. Gomez would be celebrating Mass on the field.
“Que Viva La Virgen de Guadalupe,” the faithful replied, “Que Viva!”
Esmeralda Mendez from St. Dominic Savio Church in Bellflower could count 15 relatives with her at the procession. For them, the event has become an annual family outing.
“I came with my parents, husband, my siblings, my padrinos [godparents],” and extended family members,” explained Mendez.
The procession is a tradition Mendez doesn’t want her family to let go of.
“I would like to pass it down to my children and grandchildren,” she said.
Father Miguel Angel Ruiz, who helped organize the procession as chair of the archdiocese’s Guadalupano committee, said it’s a reminder “that we are not alone, that, as much trouble as people face, we have a loving God that takes care of us, and the church that continues to guide us.”
“We bring this message to everybody: that Jesus is with you,” said Ruiz. “That everybody is in each of our prayers, especially at Mass, and to never feel that you’re alone.”
In his homily at the concluding Mass, Archbishop Gomez told the faithful that now, the Virgin Mary was inviting them on another walk with her from Nazareth to Bethlehem, from Advent to Christmas.
“She’s always at our side, she is our Mother who loves us,” said Archbishop Gomez. “So let us turn to her and put our trust in her with great hope.”
