La Virgen de los Guiris

Welcoming the Virgen

In this week's Camino a Ítaca a look at one of the more hermetic aspects of Spanish culture. It's a facet that is impenetrable and somewhat incomprehensible for outsiders looking in to understand. Click over to read the original article published in el HOY in Spanish or read the English translation below. (PDF en castellano abajo)

There’s something bizarre, a bit ludicrous and perhaps even a touch sad about observing a Scottish immigrant to Spain vociferously defending delusional secessionist arguments about their adopted home in Catalonia on Twitter. The facility with which these holier-than-thou newcomers adopt the hoary tropes that the Catalan bourgeoisie use to maintain their power and status, or assimilate the half-truths repeated by thieving politicians to cover up their corruption, solely to appear integrated, is disconcerting to say the least.

Less alarming efforts by immigrants to go native and incorporate into the prevailing culture can be seen when we do things like adopt the local football club, change the way we dress, write for regional newspapers or become involved in local festivities. These are all undertaken in the protracted, convoluted process of adapting to a new place, acculturating and becoming a full-fledged member of society.

But while attempts to acclimatize come in many forms there remains one facet of Spanish society that is cut off from outsiders. It’s a barrier that persists as impenetrable, impervious and impassable: the cults of the Virgin.

Whether it’s Argeme, Castillo, Guadalupe, Montaña, Puerto, Soledad, or Valle, these metamorphized Matronae cults are the essence of local. They are quintessentially from the tierra and in some ways are the tierra. They are inextricably linked to stars, caves, trees, springs, rivers or rocks and are essentially the local representatives of a foreign creed born on another continent more than three thousand kilometers away.

And for someone who wasn’t born into the tradition, it remains entirely abstruse.

What are the worshippers worshipping? Is it the idea of the Virgin Mary, somehow beyond the image? Or are they, in a pre-Christian, idolatry way worshipping the statue itself, even if this is uncomfortably close to the worship of images expressly prohibited in the second of the ten commandments?

Marianist images like these seem to serve as telephone operators for the faithful with a direct line to a more distant divine. These Virgins are interlocuters that intercede and relay people’s prayers to God. They act as perceptible go-betweens with the Almighty while providing a convenient out when prayers aren’t answered. For those of us on the outside, the adoration of these charismatic mediators with the supernatural is recondite and obscure.

The power these Virgins perceive is equally perplexing to an incomer. Believers and non-believers alike proclaim to be followers and even the most ardent agnostic can claim to be devoted to their local deity.

This influence extends beyond the personal sphere too. Politicians of every stripe and color flock to their ceremonies and in places like Caceres, article 14 of the constitution is blithely ignored for a week as the image is presented with the baton of the city. In some cases, they are even granted the status of being mayors in perpetuity. However, dare to question the privilege these manifestations wield and the numinous meekness of the faithful quickly turns to ire at the mere mention of these incongruities.

I can only imagine if so much fervor and energy were spent defending our health services, securing non-flammable train service, quality education or clean ground water withoutlithium mines. The miracles we could produce.