Juan Diego Encountering the Virgen of Guadalupe by Juan Zeferino Rivera, Guerrero

Juan Diego Encountering the Virgen of Guadalupe
by Juan Zeferino Rivera
Temalacatzingo, Guerrero, Mexico
Tzomplantli wood, traditional lacquer
11" high x 17 1/2" wide x 16 1/2" deep

*High resolution images coming

Our Lady of Guadalupe first introduced herself as the Mother of God and the mother of all humanity when she appeared on the hill of Tepeyac in Mexico in 1531. An indigenous peasant, Juan Diego, saw a glowing figure on the hill. After she had identified herself to him, Our Lady asked that Juan build her a shrine in that same spot, in order for her to show and share her love and compassion with all those who believe.

Afterwards, Juan Diego visited Juan de Zumárraga, who was Archbishop of what is now Mexico City. Zumárraga dismissed him in disbelief and asked that the future Saint provide proof of his story and proof of the Lady’s identity.

Juan Diego returned to the hill and encountered Our Lady again. The Virgin told him to climb to the top of the hill and pick some flowers to present to the Archbishop.

Although it was winter and nothing should have been in bloom, Juan Diego found an abundance of flowers of a type he had never seen before. The Virgin bundled the flowers into Juan's cloak, known as a tilma. When Juan Diego presented the tilma of exotic flowers to Zumárraga, the flowers fell out and he recognised them as Castilian roses, which are not found in Mexico.

What was even more significant, however, was that the tilma had been miraculously imprinted with a colorful image of the Virgin herself. This actual tilma, preserved since that date and showing the familiar image of the Virgin Mary with her head bowed and hands together in prayer, represents the Virgin of Guadalupe. It remains perhaps the most sacred object in all of Mexico.

The story is best known from a manuscript written in the Aztec’s native language Nahuatl by the scholar Antonio Valeriano. It was written sometime after 1556. Over 20 million people visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe each year, now situated on the very same hill on which she appeared. In 1990, Pope Saint John Paul II visited Mexico and beatified Juan Diego. 10 years later, in the year 2000, Juan Diego was declared a Saint.  

Maestro Juan Zeferino Rivera was born in Temalacatzingo, Guerrero, Mexico. For him, woodcarving is a family affair. He began learning the process from his parents when he was just six years old, eventually mastering the art form. Today, his whole family contributes to making the carvings he designs, including his grandchildren, to whom he is teaching the craft. The men do the carving and painting, and the women prepare the varnishes and paints and polish the final works.

Juan’s pieces are made entirely by hand with simple, non-mechanized tools: knives, saws, machetes, sandpaper, and cat-hair paint brushes. As he describes: “The whole process of making our pieces is part of our culture. People have been making these carvings here for generations. We grow chia for the oil, walk to the river to find the tecostle stones (iron oxide or siltstone) and find our wood in the hills. The designs we paint on our pieces are what we learned from our parents. They are very traditional. The process, that is most important to my work, that makes it stand out, is the creativity I put into my pieces.”

Temalacatzingo, a large village in the municipality of Olinalá, sits high in the mountains of Guerrero, Mexico. The community is nearly 95% Indigenous, and the majority of its inhabitants speak Nahuatl as their first language. Olinalá is a region known for producing specialized lacquers made from chia oil and powdered stones, as well as lacquered crafts like the acclaimed decorative boxes, cajitas de Olinalá. In Temalacatzingo, craftspeople have specialized their work to the production of colorful wooden curios and miniatures made from native zompantle wood and adorned with the region’s stunning varnishes. Woodwork is the main source of income for the village which allows them to stay in their community.