Our Lady of Guadalupe

Before yesterday I knew nothing about this religious feast day for Our Lady of Guadalupe, or "La Virgen de Guadalupe." Basically it's the day where Mexican Catholics celebrate their dedication and gratefulness to the Virgin Mary for leading them to know Christ. The feast day is set each year for Dec. 12 to commerate her appearance in the 1500s in Mexico City. In Tyler, the local St. Peter's Parish celebrated a day early on Sunday with a vibrant parade through the town. When I saw on the photo schedule that I had to cover a Catholic parade, this it NOT what I expected! I thought it would be at most a few nuns and some school kids walking down the street maybe handing out Bibles. This was so much better than I could have imagined. The people in the photos dressed as Aztecs/Natives dancing are called Matachines (religious dancers). Who knew that being Catholic in one country was so different than being Catholic in another?? p.s. These photos are for sale here