Today’s post is 1375 words, 30 photos, a 7 minute read. Enjoy!

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Traveling With Tom. This week I’ll take you on part 1 of our tour of Mexico City with our guide, Oskar. We’ll see an ancient archeological site and the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadeloupe. If you missed my earlier posts from Mexico, click here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Let’s get started.

Oskar

Before we left home for Mexico, I searched the City Unscripted website for a tour in Mexico City. I selected an eight hour walking tour led by Oskar. He’s a university student in Mexico City. He has an interest in photography, in fact his first gallery exhibition opened that night. His English was excellent and we hit it off right away. 

Our driver for part of the day was Edgar, a friend of Oskar’s, He efficiently transported us through the winding roads and heavy city traffic. We could have taken public transportation, however that would have limited what we could see during our time with Oskar.

Plaza de las Tres Culturas

Our first stop was at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas (Three Cultures Square) in the Tlateloco neighborhood. This historic site represents the three major historic periods in Mexico City; the pre-Columbian, the Spanish colonial, and the modern independent periods. It is one of the most visited sites in Mexico City.

For those readers old enough to remember, the Tlatelolco Massacre took place behind this site in front of the large apartment building in the rear of the photos above. It’s memorable because the massacre happened ten days before the opening of the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. At a large peaceful demonstration attended by an estimated 10,000 university and high school students protesting against the Olympics and in support of a revolution against the current government, police and government troops moved in and began shooting. This is after shots were fired at the authorities. It’s likely those shots were intentionally fired by the Presidential Guard. The exact number of people killed is unknown although estimated to be 300-400. Another 1400 were arrested. In the intervening years, authorities conducted several investigations. The results were inconclusive as evidence was destroyed or hidden from the public. Not a proud day in the long history of Mexico.

Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Nearly 20 million people visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe every year, second only in the number that visit St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Nearly 9 million come to this site every year around December 12 when the feast day is celebrated. In addition to being a source of Mexican identity, faith, protection, and motherhood, she is the Patron Saint of Mexico. Pope John Paul II named Our Lady of Guadalupe as the patroness of the North American continent.

When we arrived at the site of the Basilica, my Traveling Partner and I were amazed how big the grounds were and how many people were already there at mid-morning. There are actually three churches on grounds, the original church from the 1500s, the Old Basilica built in the late 1600s, and the New Basilica built when the Old Basilica began sinking into the ground. Construction on the New Basilica began in the 1970s and can hold up to 50,000 people. Here are a few photos.

There was a Mass in progress when we stepped into the Basilica. There were a lot of people milling around while being very respectful. It’s quite a place.

Here’s the short story of how this all began. In December 1531, the Virgin Mary appeared four times before a peasant and convert, Juan Diego. She spoke to him in his own language, an Aztec dialect, where she identified herself and asked that a church be built in her honor on this site. Diego went to the Archbishop who didn’t believe him. Later that day the Virgin Mary again appeared before Juan Diego to insist the church be built. Again, the Archbishop didn’t believe him and asked Juan Diego to bring him something to prove her identity. For the third time, the Virgin Mary appeared before Juan Diego who told her of the Archbishop’s request. She appeared to him the next day. His uncle was sick and he had to care for him. She healed the uncle and told Juan Diego to gather some flowers from the nearby hillside. There he found blooming roses that were not native to Mexico. He carried them to the Archbishop and when he dropped them, his cloak contained the image of the Virgin. The garment was put on display in a small chapel near where the miracle occurred. It is still displayed in the Basilica behind the alter in the photo above.

We walked to the far left side and went down underneath the alter where there is a moving walkway to carry people from one side to the other. There is room for people beside the walkway to stop and pray. A number of people were doing so.

Nearby the New Basilica is the Old Basilica. Due to damage from its heavy weight of the building on unstable soil, the interior has been altered a number of times over the years since it was built. It is still used for services, in fact when we were inside, we were asked to leave since a Mass was beginning soon.

This is known as the Capilla de Indios or the Indian Chapel. It was built for the indigenous populations who were converted to Catholicism, many forcibly. Juan Diego was said to have lived where this chapel was built after his death.

Nearby is a garden where he is honored. Note the roses that created the image of the Virgin Mary.

This temple was built in the late 1700s on the site of a water well that was considered to be miraculous. So many people came to drink the water that it soon became a source of infections. Built in the baroque style, the temple is well preserved and quite stunning to look at.

As we walked up the steps to the top of the hill overlooking the Basilica, we came to this water feature called Fuente de Quetzalcóatl. Here 16 statutes of indigenous people are bringing offerings to the Virgin of Guadalupe. This is near the site where the Virgin appeared to Juan Diego.

At the top of the stairway was another chapel, Capilla del Cerrito Tepeyac. This is where the miracle of the fresh roses took place. It was built in the mid-1700s. Note all the flowers in the sanctuary and on the alter.

At this high location, there is an observation deck that overlooks Mexico City. In a couple of the photos below, notice the tall buildings in the distance. Most of these were built after the big earthquake in 1985 that killed 10,000, injured over 30,000, and left a couple of hundred thousand people without homes. Building codes were tightened and enforced after that quake.

With the crowds of people, I wondered how this dog could sleep this soundly.

As we were leaving groups of pilgrims were arriving often with elaborate displays honoring the Virgin of Guadalupe. Or to have religious figurines blessed or anointed. The Basilica has a couple of gift shops where visitors can purchase religious items.

We noticed this large open air structure where some event was going on. We learned that the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, was scheduled to speak to the group. If you look over the top of the crowd in the foreground, the person in the white jacket on the stage is President Sheinbaum. She took office on October 1, 2024, the first woman to serve as President of Mexico. Prior to her election, she was the Mayor of Mexico City. She is quite popular with the common people, not so much with the upper class and business owners. President Sheinbaum is a secular Jew and has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. More about her next week.

While we were waiting for Edgar to pick us up at the entrance to the Basilica, I noticed this fellow across the street. I like his weathered face and full beard. He was wearing a cross and appeared to have a Bible or prayer book. I wondered if he was a monk or maybe homeless.

That’s enough for today. Next week in part 2, Oskar and I will I take you to the flower market and the city center.

Until then, happy travels!

Tom

PS: Click here for a link to the post about my book “Farm Boy.” Contact me if you are interested in purchasing a copy. Thanks to all have plunked down your hard earned dollars and read the book. TM