My name is Abraham Montoya, I am an Augustinian Recollect and I am originally from Mexico City, a city with a special characteristic: all the capital’s inhabitants are ‘Guadalupanos’.
In my family, devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe stems from a simple faith that seeks refuge under the protection of her mantle. From a young age, I was instilled with this devotion and this certainty: that the Virgin is our mother and that she protects us. I can even say that I took my first steps in the Basilica of Guadalupe.
My birthday is in June, and it sometimes coincides with the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, which is celebrated in Mexico City with the Fiesta de las Mulas (Festival of the Mules), a Eucharist preceded by a procession that commemorates the indigenous people who arrived at the temples with their mules laden with offerings. And in remembrance, everyone dresses the children as little mules.
To thank God and the Virgin Mary for my first year of life, my mother dressed me as a mule and took me to see the Virgin. The surprise was for my family, because when we entered the Basilica, I suddenly started walking for the first time.
Since my youth I have lived and felt like a Guadalupano. When I participated in my parish choir, on December 12th we sang at several of the masses organized in thanksgiving and devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Also, in the house where I grew up, the neighbors would gather to sing “Las Mañanitas” to the Virgin; then we would go from house to house to congratulate the Virgin in all the homes.
When I started studying engineering, my university was one block behind the Basilica of Guadalupe. Every day, on my way to class, I would enter the sanctuary through the main entrance, bow before the Virgin, and exit through the side door toward the university; and on my way back I would do exactly the same thing.
Since my arrival in Spain in 2021 following my training path as an Augustinian Recollect religious, every December 12th I am filled with nostalgia for not being able to celebrate this very special and folkloric festival in my homeland, with my people and with my customs.
However, in our communities outside of Mexico, among the Mexican Augustinian Recollect religious, we continue to remember our mother, the dark-skinned Virgin of Tepeyac, on that day with the traditional Mañanitas and some Mexican dishes that leave us with the taste of our land in our mouths and the affection for our Mother in our hearts.
