http://ww2.lafayette.edu/~mckelvy/cgi-bin/journal.cgi?author=badamoh&left=page1&right=page2

Hell Breaks Loose Over an Unholy Image of the Virgin Mary ÊÊÊÊ

This summer in the city of Santa Fe all hell broke loose over a small photo collage on exhibition at the Museum of International Folk Art. The tiny image, entitled Our Lady, drew condemnation, cast stones, and threats of eternal damnation.1 Protesters of the art gathered to hurl insults at artist Alma Lopez while she was in Santa Fe, yelling "crucify her" (Keller 31). Yet the image had been on exhibition before without creating an uproar, and the curators at the Museum of International Folk Art never dreamed that this work would have such an effect. In the aftermath, the curators and board of directors found themselves asking if they had failed to meet exhibition procedures in some way, but their adherence to procedure was flawless. Their mistake may have come in failing to anticipate how certain cultural groups in New Mexico would react to this image.

The question then becomes: what in the people of New Mexico reacted so negatively to this small collage? Alma Lopez's Our Lady is based on an icon called Our Lady of Guadalupe, and by redefining this religious and cultural icon she drew the condemnation of the Hispanics of northern New Mexico. ÊÊÊÊ

Our Lady was displayed as part of an exhibition entitled Cyber Arte: Tradition Meets Technology. The exhibition, which opened during Holy Week, was held at the Museum of International Folk Art (MOIFA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico and featured four Chicana/Latina/Hispana artists who combine traditional cultural iconography with state of the art technology.2 The artists included Elena Baca (photographer), Marion Martinez (sculptor), Teresa Archuleta Sagel (weaver), and Alma Lopez (digital artist).

The curator who selected the artists and the works to be included was Tey Marianna Nun, a Latina scholar and art historian.

This was not the first time that Our Lady was on display. Prior to this, Our Lady was exhibited in California, received a book cover award for a book published by the University of Arizona Press, and was shown on ABC/Channel 7 Vista LA.

Only six complaints were sent in response to the September 2000 mailing brochure for the Cyber Arte exhibition. Thus it was the virulence of the protests that erupted one month after the opening that surprised the artist and the museum. ÊÊÊÊ

While protesters found the entire exhibition offensive, the most vehement grievances centered on a small photo collage, Our Lady, that bears a strong resemblance to a Latino cultural icon.

Alma Lopez's Our Lady is based on the Virgen de Guadalupe (or Our Lady of Guadalupe as she is more commonly known), a religious image that is pervasive in Hispanic culture. This icon of the Catholic faith bears special importance to Mexican-Americans, due to the circumstances of its creation. In order to understand Lopez's work of art, it is necessary to explore the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and why this image is important to Mexican-Americans. ÊÊÊÊ

Catholic tradition holds that the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was the result of a divine manifestation of the Virgin Mary.

On December 9, 1531 a poor Indian, Juan Diego, heard music as he walked by a hill named Tepeyac, located near Mexico City. He followed the music to the top of the hill where he saw a young woman of glowing beauty. She revealed herself to Juan Diego as "the ever holy Virgin, Mary, mother of the true God through whom one lives, Mother of the Creator of heaven and of earth" (Rodriguez 31).

The Virgin desired that a temple dedicated to her be constructed at the base of the hill. Juan Diego was selected to deliver this request to the bishop of Mexico City. Juan went to the palace of the Spanish bishop and told the bishop that he had seen the Virgin and she wished for a temple to be built at the base of Tepeyac. The bishop did not believe Juan Diego and sent him on his way. Juan Diego returned to the Virgin, who told him to go again to the bishop. This time, the bishop told Juan Diego that he needed a sign. Juan went back to Tepeyac, where the Virgin waited for him, and told the Virgin that the bishop had asked for a sign. The Virgin told Juan that she would have a sign for him on the following day. Juan, however, did not return the next day. His uncle had been struck by the plague, and Juan tended him. That Sunday, as he was hurrying by the hill of Tepeyac in order to summon the doctor, he heard the Virgin calling him. The top of the hill was covered with flowers and roses of Castille. She told him that his uncle would be healed, and that Juan must take the flowers to the bishop. Juan Diego cut the flowers, which the Virgin then arranged in his tilma, and he took them to the bishop.3 As Juan unfolded his tilma before the bishop, an image of the Virgin Mary appeared on the tilma. The tilma was placed in a chapel built for the Virgin at the base of Tepeyac, where it has remained until the present. ÊÊÊÊ

The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe shows a decidedly native apparition of Mary. She is pictured with her hands folded in prayer and her head bowed. She wears a red dress and a turquoise cloak studded with forty-seven stars. She is held aloft on a crescent by a cherub, and rays of light radiate from her figure.

The face of the Virgin with brown skin and black hair told the Indians that she was one of them. Her hands are not in the European pose of prayer, but in the Indian manner of offering, indicating that something is coming from her. The tassel or belt around her waist is a cinta, a band indicating her maternity (Rodriguez 19-30). ÊÊÊÊ

For the Catholics of Mexico, Our Lady of Guadalupe holds significance beyond the Catholic Marian tradition. The appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Tepeyac marked the founding of the Catholic Church in New Spain. Her appearance to an Indian began the conversion of the Aztecs to Christianity. Only six years after the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe nine million Aztecs had been baptized as Christians. In the sixteenth century the Virgin of Guadalupe came to symbolize the new Indian Catholicism as distinguished from the foreign Catholicism of the conquerors. This religion, known as Guadalupanist Catholicism has remained a central part of Mexican culture (Rodrguez 45). ÊÊÊÊ

Furthermore, Our Lady of Guadalupe provided a link between the cultures of the Aztecs and that of the Spaniards. In Our Lady of Guadalupe, Catholicism was adapted to the Aztec's beliefs in a process of fusional syncretism. She appeared at Tepeyac, where the Aztec goddess Tonanzin had been worshipped. The Aztecs called her "Tlecuauhtlacupeuh," "she who comes flying from the region of light like an eagle of fire." The region of light was the dwelling place of the Aztec gods, and the eagle was a sign from the gods. To the Spaniards, "Tlecuauhtlacupeuh" sounded like "Guadalupe," and they quickly identified her with the patroness of Guadalupe in Estremada, Spain. Both the natives and the Spaniards found something of value in Our Lady of Guadalupe, and this was a unifying force within the two cultures (Rodrigeuz 46). ÊÊÊÊ

Alma Lopez's Our Lady offers a striking contrast to the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe while making reference to this holy icon. Created in 1999, the digital image shares some of the features of the original icon, including the cupid supporting the virgin on a crescent, the roses and stars that frame her halo, and the fabric of the Virgin's dress. However, these familiar elements have been relegated to different positions and changed from the original. The pose of the Virgin, with hands on hips and flowing hair, is entirely of Lopez's design, as are the different garments. Instead of the somber, chaste dress of Our Lady of Guadalupe, this virgin wears a cloak held back to show a naked, muscular body covered only by strands of roses. She is held up, not by a cherub, but by a tiny butterfly angel with short hair, bare breasts, and a nipple ring. The defiant pose contrasts sharply with the calmly prayerful woman on Juan Diego's tilma. ÊÊÊÊ

The cloak worn by Lopez's virgin is a symbol of power in traditional Aztec culture. Clothing was highly emblematic of place and social status in Aztec society, and laws were in place to regulate the wearing of clothes according to social and official position (Townsend 190). The garment worn by the virgin is that of a male noble. Closer inspection of the garment reveals that it was patterned with images from a pre-Columbian stone relief sculpture of the Aztec moon goddess/warrior Coyolxauhqui. The relief, known as the disk of Coyolxauhqui, shows the goddess with her dismembered limbs in a dynamic pose and commemorates the legend of Huitzilopochtli, who defeated Coyolxauhqui in battle on Mount Coatepetl. Huitzilopochtli was magically born as a warrior and attacked and defeated an enemy army led by his sister Coyolxauhqui. She was cut to pieces and rolled down the sides of the mountain. Placed at the foot of the Huitzilopochtli stairway, the huge disk represented the defeat of the Aztec's enemies (Townsend 158-159).4 Traditionally, a loincloth would have accompanied the cloak, but in Lopez's image this has been replaced by a lei of roses. ÊÊÊÊ

The roses, according to the artist, refer both to Our Lady of Guadalupe and Aztec culture. Roses were Juan Diego's proof that he had seen the Virgin, and flowers were the connection to the fact that she is a native; Xochitlopan is the flower earth place which can be translated as paradise or heaven (Lopez, Artist Statement). In Aztec culture flowers were related to sex and fertility. There were several flower gods and goddess, but Xochiquetzel, goddess of fertility and motherhood, was most closely linked to flower symbolism.5 ÊÊÊÊ

Whether or not the sexuality related to flowers had a negative or positive connotation to the Aztecs is open to interpretation. The link to Xochiquetzel establishes a positive connotation, and the validity of a positive interpretation may be reinforced by the Aztec practice of using the appellation "flower" in their daughters' names. The Florentine Scroll, however, connects flowers to harlots and prostitution. The scroll features several images entitled "harlot" that show Aztec women with flowering branches and one woman wearing a flowered huipillis (tunic), which would suggest that the Aztecs connected flowers with negative sexuality. Avery has suggested that the Aztec symbolism employed in the Florentine Scroll was adapted to and transformed by the Spanish friars who created the scroll.6 Lopez may have been aware of the ambiguity of the sexual connotations assigned to flowers when she created the collage. In her statement she described Mary as a strong woman who "raised her son to have love and compassion for everyone, including female prostitutes." ÊÊÊÊ

According to the artist, the image was intended to be a display of women's power, which is evident in her choice of models. The photo collage features the artist's friends as the Virgin and the angel supporting her. Raquel Salinas, a performance artist, posed for the Virgin, and Raquel Gutierrez, a cultural activist, is the butterfly angel. The piece is based on the collective experiences of Lopez, Salinas, and Gutierrez, as well as an essay by Sandra Cisneros entitled "Guadalupe the Sex Goddess." In her artist statement, Lopez used the following excerpt from Cisneros' essay to explain her motives in creating Our Lady. "She is a face for a god without a face, an indigena for a god without ethnicity, a female deity for a god who is genderless, but I also understand that for her to approach me, for me to finally open the door and accept her she had to be a woman like me." ÊÊÊÊ

In changing the likeness of the original image on Juan Diego's tilma Alma Lopez created a message of Chicana power. If Our Lady of Guadalupe was the Virgin of the Mexicans, Lopez's is even more so.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is identified with the native population only through her skin and hair color. Lopez draws on Aztec clothing and the stone of Coyolxauhqui, as well as a Hispanic model, to illustrate the relation of the Virgin to the indigenous population. Our Lady of Guadalupe is a fully clothed woman with her head bent in prayer and her hands in an offering position. Our Lady stands in a blatantly defiant pose, with hands on hips and hair tossed over her shoulders. The naked bodies of both the Virgin and the angel have sexual overtones absent from the original. Add to that the roses, which were associated with prostitution in Aztec society, and Lopez has turned an image of divine motherhood into one of sexual liberation. The overall message sent by Our Lady does indeed seem to be the liberation of the Mexican-American woman. Lopez's Virgin wears the garments of a male Aztec warrior and she has chosen to decorate this garment with a rather violent symbol of Aztec power. This lady looks as if she would be willing to fight in order to protect her people. While Our Lady of Guadalupe appears to be a religious image through the Virgin's praying hands, the presence of a cherub, and the light radiating from her, Lopez's virgin may be identified as a religious image primarily through its close association with Our Lady of Guadalupe. Lopez, in defense of her work, repeatedly stated that Mary would have had to be a strong woman, like Lopez herself is, and like Mexican-American women are. ÊÊÊÊ

Alma Lopez identifies herself as a Chicana, which provides insight into her motivation for creating Our Lady. The term Chicano is a relatively recent word appropriated by many Mexican descendants as unique and therefore reflective of their unique culture.7 Although "Chicano" originated as a derogatory word for Mexican Americans in the 1930's, the term Badamo was later adopted by Mexican-American activists who took part in the Brown Power movement of the 1960's and 1970's in the United States southwest. It has come into wide usage and tends to be used by political activists and by those who seek to create a new and fresh identity for their culture rather than to subsume it blandly under the guise of mainstream culture (Azteca Net). As the art of a Chicana, Our Lady stands as a statement of the courage, religiosity, and strength of the modern Mexican-American woman. ÊÊÊÊ

Now that the art in question has been examined, the reasons for the protests can be explored. The main protesters of Our Lady were Michael J. Sheehan, Pedro Romero Sedno, Octavio Romano, Deacon Anthony Trujillo, and Jose L. Villegas Sr. Michael J. Sheehan, archbishop of New Mexico, referred to Our Lady as "sacrilegious" and the virgin as "a tart." Pedro Romero Sedeno is a Santa Fe artist who led his campaign of protests primarily on the internet, as did the Berkley-based Tonatiuh-Quinto Sol publisher Octavio Romano. Deacon Anthony Tujillo of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish was the man who actually filed an appeal to the museum, asking that the entire exhibition be removed. Jose L. Villegas Sr., a community activist, also filed an appeal demanding that the art be removed. He was also responsible for organizing protesters for the MOIFA's community forum.8 The Deanery (which represents all Roman Catholic parishes and ministries in the city), and the New York-based Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights also sent letters to the MOIFA (Keller 31). ÊÊÊÊ

The leading protesters of Our Lady are Catholics, stemming from the art's resemblance to an icon the Catholics regard as their cultural property, Our Lady of Guadalupe. The term "icon" is most commonly applied to wooden panels with painted images of saints, Mary, and Jesus, and icons are typically associated with the Byzantine Catholic religion.9 The Roman Catholic Church does not call Juan Diego's tilma an icon. However, the Spanish Catholic Church in New Spain assimilated our Lady of Guadalupe into Roman Catholic tradition as an icon. In order to understand the Catholic position on Our Lady, it is necessary to explore what it means to call Our Lady of Guadalupe an icon and how this affects the way in which the wider Catholic community regards this image. ÊÊÊÊ

The tradition of icons, or religious images, arose with Christianity. The early Christians were wary of religious images. After all, the Ten Commandments explicitly forbade the worship of idols and graven images. A letter written by Bishop Euseubius embodies the image doctrine of the early church. After Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire in A.D. 313, his daughter asked Bishop Eusebius for an image of Christ so that she might worship him. The bishop sent his reply in a letter, asking which Christ she expected to see in an image: the divine Christ that could not be represented, or the frail human Christ that was unworthy of representation. By declining to depict the divine, early Christians both avoided idolatry and created a distinction between themselves and the pagans, who made extensive use of images in their religion. ÊÊÊÊ

Despite the Christians' fervent attempts to eliminate the use of religious images, their widespread use was adopted in the sixth century A.D. Religious images, or icons, became common in homes, palaces, and churches throughout Christendom. This did not stop certain sects of society from questioning the validity of icons, and the legitimacy of using images was seriously tested during the eighth and ninth centuries in the iconoclastic controversy. The iconoclastic controversy was a phenomenon of the Byzantine Empire created by Emperor Leo III, who banned the use of icons on the grounds that they led to idolatry. By this time, icons had become a widespread and integral part of the Byzantine Church. Icons were ascribed the power to heal, exact revenge, and even to bleed. Priests and monks of the church wrote many manuscripts in justification of religious images. Those works written by St. John of Damascene and St. Theodore of Studios were particularly influential. They claimed that the reverence given to icons was transferred to the holy beings whose images were on the icons. They further justified images through their divine origin. Idols were images of false gods, but icons were images of the true God and his saints. Furthermore, icons were true images created by divine will. One such icon was the mandylion, an icon of Christ. This image was created when Veronica stopped Christ on his path to Calvary in order to wipe the sweat from his face. The contact with Christ's face left his image on her cloth, and every icon of Christ is a copy of that original. These arguments led to the end of the iconoclastic controversy in the ninth century A.D. The use of religious images would not be contested again until the Reformation. ÊÊÊÊ

It was against the backdrop of the Reformation that the Spaniards brought Catholicism to New Spain. The Reformation, led by Martin Luther, criticized the Catholic Church for its prevalent use of images, a practice that was uncomfortably close to idolatry. The Catholic Church responded to the Protestants by reaffirming religious images as teaching tools for the faithful illiterate. Roman Catholicism had officially held this position for centuries. Reaffirming this stance did not necessarily change the official teaching on images; rather it affected the way in which the laity perceived religious images.10 Such a position undermined the power of images, relegating them to the realm of art and aesthetics, removing them from their former status as objects of power. ÊÊÊÊ

The friars who went to New Spain brought with them the determination to create a country where Catholicism existed without images. Like the early Christians, they wanted to distinguish between the old pagan religion and Catholicism. As the use of images characterized the religion they sought to replace, the easiest way to create a distinction was to avoid the use of Catholic religious images. Furthermore, New Spain was regarded as an opportunity for the Spanish friars to introduce Catholicism in its pure form, free of the statues and paintings that had become so commonplace throughout Europe (Brading 24-26). ÊÊÊÊ

When the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared on Juan Diego's tilma, there was nothing in the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church to address this miraculous image. The Spanish Church turned to the writings of the Greek fathers in order to justify the image. The writings of St. John of Damascene and St. Theodore of Studios were widely read by the Spanish clergy, and they were ruthlessly employed to assimilate the image. Our Lady of Guadalupe, after all, had far more in common with the icons of Byzantium than the teaching tools of Catholic Europe. Like the mandylion, Our Lady of Guadalupe placed her image on the tilma through an act of divine will, and the image was known for its healing powers. Also akin to icons, Our Lady of Guadalupe was (and is) believed to be present in all copies made of the image from Juan Diego's tilma. ÊÊÊÊ

An icon enjoys a far higher status than a teaching tool, and this has affected the way in which Catholics perceive Our Lady of Guadalupe. Icons were often referred to and treated as if they were the people represented. Our Lady of Guadalupe is commonly referred to as "she", and she is spoken about as if she were present. She is one of a very few apparitions of Mary, and the only one to leave something as tangible as her image. She is important to all Catholics, particularly in her role as Patroness of the Americas. More recently, she has become associated with the Pro-Life movement, seen as a mother who protects unborn babies. She is a being present in her images who is capable of hearing prayers and responding to them. ÊÊÊÊ

The nature of Our Lady of Guadalupe as an icon is at the root of the Catholic protest of this image. She is present in all images of her, so it is not just the tilma that the Catholics consider as being their cultural property, but every reproduction of the image from the tilma. This is made clear by letters sent to the MOIFA. Two letters, written by Jose Villegas and Deacon Anthony Trujillo, demanded that Our Lady be removed due to the fact that the Catholics of New Mexico constitute a concerned cultural group (McNeece et. Al). This is particularly revealing. The kind of cultural protection demanded by Villegas and would be appropriate if the museum were exhibiting Juan Diego's tilma. However, the MOIFA was not exhibiting the original, or even a copy of the original. Our Lady is not an actual image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and it has no elements that are taken in entirety from the original. The Catholics of New Mexico who protested the image seemed to regard the very idea of the image as their cultural property-something sacred to them that must not be violated. It is difficult to determine if Catholics everywhere regard the image in this way. However, the fact that the Catholic League of America became involved suggests that this idea may go beyond the Catholics of New Mexico. Keeping the nature of Our Lady of Guadalupe in mind, it is easy to understand why Catholics have become upset over Alma Lopez's Our Lady. In changing the icon on Juan Diego's tilma, she has violated the image that is the Virgin. ÊÊÊÊ

Catholicism is not the only reason that people would respond to Our Lady; the image may well have provoked the racial tensions that simmer in northern New Mexico. New Mexico calls itself the "state where cultures meet", but often the meeting of cultures is anything but friendly. New Mexico, after Hawaii, has more minorities than any other state-indeed minorities have historically been in the majority in New Mexico. The 2000 U.S. census data reported that 9.5 percent of the population in New Mexico is Indian, 42.1 percent of the population is Hispanic, 66.8 percent of the population Badamo is white, and 1.9 percent of the population is black (U.S. Census Bureau). The racial relations in New Mexico are complex, and they go clear back to the Spanish settlement of America. ÊÊÊÊ

The area that is today called New Mexico has been home to a variety of cultures throughout its history, some indigenous, some immigrant, and seemingly all at odds with each other. The original inhabitants of the Rio Grande valley and its tributaries were the Pueblo Indians. The Spaniard Don Juan de Onate colonized northern New Mexico (including the valley) in 1598, and it became part of New Spain.

Relations between the Spaniards and the indigenous people were poor, and many Indians were killed or mutilated during this time period. Despite hostilities, the Spanish intermingled with the Indians, creating the race known as "mestizo," which means "mixed" in Spanish. The rule of the Spaniards continued until the Mexican-American War, which ended in 1848 with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (Linthicum). The United States appropriated approximately fifty percent of Mexico, and a sizeable number of Mexican citizens became citizens of the United States overnight. The treaty stipulated that the United States recognize the people's rights to their private properties (as deeded by Mexican or Spanish colonial authorities), their own religion (Roman Catholicism), and the right to speak and receive education in their own language (Spanish). The state remained primarily Indian and Hispanic until the 1950s, when the postwar development boom in Albuquerque drew Anglos from other states. Another influx of affluent Anglos came in the late 1970s to early 1980s, when the national media rediscovered Santa Fe. ÊÊÊÊ

Although much of New Mexico enjoys racial harmony, the northern part of the state, particularly Santa Fe, has had poor ethnic relations. Orlando Romero, director of the Palace of Governors' history library, has described Santa Fe as a "cloistered city" where ethnic groups don't intermix (Propp et. al.). Many Santa Feans draw a sharp distinction between Hispanics and Mexican-Americans. Those who call themselves Hispanics trace their ancestry to the Spanish who settled New Mexico and deny any connection with Mexico. Some families even claim pure Spanish bloodlines, unmixed with the local Indian population. Santa Fe resident Millie Santillanes explained the distinction in the following way: ÊÊÊÊ

"We became part of (that) nation not by choice, but because that's what happened with the revolution. We were so far...so isolated, that it just didn't impact us much. My feeling is that when the Americans came 24, 25 years later and captured us, there was resentment that the Mexicans didn't provide us with any troops...that they sold us out" (Contreras). ÊÊÊÊ

The dislike of Mexican-Americans is apparent in the derogatory terms used to identify them, the lower wages they receive, and the general bad reputation assigned to them as the scapegoats of New Mexico. Mexicans are commonly referred to as "mojados" or "wetbacks," a derogatory term for illegal immigrants who swim across the Rio Grande to get to the United States. In 1997 two teachers in Vaughn were suspended for teaching a "Chicano pride" curriculum that extolled the achievements of Mexican-Americans. The teachers and students were Hispanic, as were the school officials who fired them. This is just one example of the argument between Hispanics who trace their roots and loyalty to Spain and those who have ties to Mexico (Linthicum, Ragan et al.). ÊÊÊÊ

Our Lady certainly would have provoked a response from the Hispanic community in Santa Fe. The Hispanics of Santa Fe, as previously mentioned, trace their ties to Spain and deny a relation to Mexico. They are known as conservatives, and they tend to flow with mainstream American society. Our Lady, as a piece of Chicana art, surely upset this segment of the population. Lopez appropriated a Hispanic cultural icon in order to make a political statement about the power of Mexican-Americans. The political movement of the Cincanos/Chicanas is something that is clearly disliked by the Hispanics of northern New Mexico, and it is of little surprise that they found this image of Chicana empowerment offensive. ÊÊÊÊ

It is impossible to determine what, precisely, were the causes of the brouhaha in Santa Fe this summer. Images, in their own right, are powerful enough to provoke emotions, inspire devotion, or spark rage. Images that create such an intense reaction deserve a second look, serving as possible gauges of cultural trends. Doubtlessly there was a myriad of reasons that Our Lady offended people. Some of those reasons were doubtlessly political in nature, while others were most likely a genuine feeling of revulsion. These reactions reveal the cultural norms and beliefs of a subculture in Santa Fe, that of the Hispanics.

In looking at the incident in Santa Fe it is easy to write it off as another contesting of the First Amendment. Yet the incident was so much more-for the Hispanics who protested the art it was a contest against a set of cultural beliefs that were in conflict with their own, that of the Chicanas.

Works Cited

Are Chicanos the same as Mexicans? 29 Dec. 2001 http://www.azteca.net/aztec/chicano.html.

Avrey, Margaret C. "Women of Ill-Repute in the Florentine Codex." The Role of Gender in Precolumbian Art and Architecture. Ed. Viginia E. Miller. Lanham: University Press of America, 1988. 179-204.

Brading, D.A. Mexican Phoenix Our Lady of Guadalupe: Image and Tradition Across Five Centuries. New York: Cambridge Univeristy Press, 2001.

Contreras, Guillermo. "Cultures Mix and Clash: Hispanics, Mexican Immigrants Walk Apart While Hand in Hand." Albuquerque Journal 29 June 1997. http://www.abqjournal.com/news/ ethnic/7ethnic6-30.htm.

Keller, Cathryn. "Faith and the First Amendment Santa Fe Style." Museum News July/August. 2001: 30-35.

Linthicum, Leslie. "New Mexico's Melting Pot Simmers." Albuquerque Journal 29, 1997. http://www.abqjournal.com/news/ ethnic/1ethnic6-30.htm.

Lopez, Alma. "Artist Statement." http://www.almalopez.net/.

McNeece Anita et. Al. Committee on Sensitive Materials.

"Commentary." Email to Dr. Tom Wilson, Director of the Museum of International Folk Art. 21 May 2001. http://www.almalopez.net.

Ragan, Tom and Lori Pugh. "Cultures Mix and Clash: Anglo Influx Stokes Tensions in Northern N.M." Albuquerque Journal. 29 June 1997. http://www.abqjournal.com/news/ ethnic/8ethnic6-30.htm.

Rodriguez, Jeanette. Our Lady of Guadalupe: Faith and Empowerment among Mexican-American Women. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994.

Townsend, Richard F. The Aztecs. London: Thames and Hudson, 2000.

U.S. Bureau of the Census. "2000 Population by Race and Hispanic or Latino origin: Counties in New Mexico. http://quickfacts.census.gov/ cgi-bin/state_Quicklinks?3500.