Celebración Guadalupana

Our Lady of Guadalupe walked the streets of Marco Island on Sunday afternoon, along with a couple of hundred followers. Also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe, both these are names or titles for Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the walk from Kretch’s Restaurant to San Marco Catholic Church pays homage to her influence in the church.

Led by a statue of Our Lady in a glass-enclosed litter, accompanied by a mariachi band and Quetzalcoatl Danza, a troupe of colorful Aztec dancers, the procession had a very Mexican flavor. The mass in the sanctuary was conducted in Spanish by Father Benjamin Casimir of Jesus the Worker Parish in Ft. Myers, following the assemblage’s arrival and dance performance in the San Marco parking lot. 

The walk, said organizer Maya Martinez, is entitled the Peregrinación de Marco Island, Florida, with “peregrinación” being Spanish for pilgrimage. The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City is the most-visited Catholic shrine in the world, according to Wikipedia, commemorating when Mary appeared to a Mexican peasant, later canonized as San Juan Diego, in 1531. 

Spirited music was provided by the eight-piece Mariachi Tampa band, both on the walk to the church, during the service, and afterward, when, said Martinez, everyone was welcome in the parish hall for Mexican food featuring tacos of chorizo, al pastor, and beef – “and pizza for the kids,” she said. 

While the mariachis serenaded during the walk, when the dancers performed before entering the sanctuary at San Marco, they were accompanied by their own three drummers, along with the percussive rhythms created by the anklets, bedecked with a myriad of seashells that the dancers wore. They entered the church dancing to the thunder of the drums.

Father Benjamin spoke primarily in Spanish but occasionally broke into English. 

“This is a beautiful moment for everyone to pray to the mother of our church,” he said. 

The Our Lady celebration at San Marco goes back to 2010, although the walk didn’t start until later. The actual day of celebration is December 12, but Marco Island gets a jump on the festivities because not having a Spanish-speaking priest, they borrow un padre from outside – along, said Martinez, with “Our Traveling Lady, the image in the little house.” 

One local did his bit to help make the fiesta festive. As the procession passed his house on San Marco Drive, Dan Palumbo popped out of his front door with a couple of cervezas for the mariachis who were singing, not playing instruments, and therefore had their hands free. These were saved for later.