New film about ‘Our Lady’ to be screened here
Miracle of holy figure set the stage for Catholic converts in New World
The film was shot in many New Mexico locations including La Hacienda de los Martínez, a local museum operated by Taos Historic Museums in Lower Ranchitos.
THE STORY IS WELL-KNOWN and highly revered in Mexico, South America and throughout the American Southwest, a tale of the 1531 visitation by an apparition of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, to a lowly Nahuatl Native named Juan Diego, who at first was unbelieved by a church official, but who later astonished by proof.
The Lady, referred to as Guadalupe, is such a strong influence in the New World she is credited with aiding in the conversion of many Natives to Christianity.
The story, however compelling it may seem with regard to modern faithbased movies, has not been the focus of many films, until now.
A movie titled “Lady of Guadalupe” was released earlier this year and will receive its New Mexico premier Saturday (Aug. 14) in screenings at 2 p.m. and at 7 p.m. The venue is the Taos Community Auditorium, 145 Paseo del Pueblo Norte.
The film was shot in many New Mexico locations including La Hacienda de los Martínez, a local museum operated by Taos Historic Museums in Lower Ranchitos.
“When I think of the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe, I unquestionably think about Juan Diego, a humble Native man who, with nothing more than his devout faith, offered a legacy of hope to millions and united the nation of what is now Mexico. But, the simple story of this simple man also contains a deeper moral message from a world in chaos at the end of an era of great change,” director Pedro Brenner says (theladyofguadalupe.com).
David Fernandez, author of The Blessing Way column that appears in the Taos News is sponsoring the local screening. He was also part of bringing the production to Taos. “I guess it was 2019,” he said. “We, the members of the board of directors of the Taos Historic Museums, which includes Martínez Hacienda, were approached to consider having part of that movie filmed at Martínez Hacienda. After a discussion with the production team, we agreed to work with them.”
The film is directed by Pedro Brenner, who took pains to recreate the look and feel of 16th century Mexico near the hill outside Tepayac. The Martínez Hacienda is featured in scenes where Juan Diego offers proof of his spiritual encounter when he reveals his tilma (cape) imprinted with the now-familiar image of Guadalupe and a collection of roses. It is this proof that brings the church official and Spanish military to their knees in reverence.
“Juan Diego lives in a war-torn zone ruled by barbaric Europeans, the ‘conquistadores’ of the ‘New World.’ Diseases that arrived with the conquerors ran rampant, disseminating what was left of the crippled Native civilization. Despite the hardships, difficulty and loss, Juan Diego maintained his hope in a better and peaceful tomorrow,” Brenner states.
The film is not entirely set in historic times. Its narrative is shared with fictional events that take place in the present, personified by an earnest journalist named John Martínez who, although employed by a Latino newspaper, is tired of writing Latin-focused stories. The actor who plays him, Guillermo Iván, also portrays Juan Diego. John’s editor insists he write a story about faith, based upon the story of Guadalupe. As fate would have it, amid his research, John’s pregnant wife, Mary (Kimberley Aria Peterson), suffers a health emergency which plunges John into a spiritual crisis.
Brenner brings these centuries-distant timelines together in coincidental plot lines. “Five centuries have passed since Juan Diego roamed around the Tepayac,” he states. “Empires have come and gone, but the legacy of hope created through the miracle story of the Lady of Guadalupe remains the defining force of the Latin culture to this day. In that sense, the Lady of Guadalupe is not only an intrinsic dogmatic symbol of hope, but also a symbol of the Latin Cultural History and the Rosetta stone for the Latin Culture.”
He adds that the movie is “a journey into the cultural amalgamation of what we call ‘Latin heritage’ through two time lines – the distant past and present. By combining the experience of the past, with the present, it makes what was old, new and relevant again, thus offering a guide to better understand what it means to be Latino in modern day.”
Admission to the Taos screenings is free and it is open to the public. Voluntary donations will go to Taos area agencies for food and other assistance.