The St. Anne-St. Augustin church in downtown Manchester celebrated the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe with an early morning mass on Friday, Dec. 12. The day coincides with the middle of advent calendar, and is a time of festivity for the faithful from Mexico, Latin America and beyond.
A mariachi band started the festivities at 4:30 a.m. with a morning serenade to the Virgin Mary called “las mañanitas” – literally, “the mornings” in Spanish.
Behind them, longtime parishioner Carmen Ayala volunteered to help tend the altar, which was covered in offerings of flowers and candles.
Roses are a symbol of the Virgin of Guadalupe, she said. According to Catholic tradition, they miraculously appeared out of season as proof of the virgin’s appearance in Mexico. Ayala reflected on how similar roses are to people.
“Humans are pretty fragile,” she said in Spanish. “Especially those of us who came to this country bringing so many things on our backs, as well as carrying all the things that are here. Some of us aren’t strong enough to carry all that weight.”
Ayala said she constantly prays to the Virgin for protection, since she moved from Lima, Peru.
Local students also got up before school to perform a special prayer dance. One of the youngest was Tony Castro Augustín, age 9, who danced while wearing a special embroidered apron that jingled when he moved.
He said it was his first time dancing – but he wasn’t nervous.
“We were dancing for the Virgin to pray,” he said in Spanish, “so that all the bad kids can become good kids and come to church.”
His mom, Fátima Augustín, said she was proud of him and his cousins, Gisela and Jessica, who also danced, for continuing the culture from their native Guatemala.
“I feel happy and proud of my son, and to teach him devotion to the Virgin Mary,” she said.
After mass, the faithful gathered in the church basement for a breakfast of warm Pozole, Pan dulce and champurrado before heading out into the icy morning.
