recuerda mi corazon

lupita love

market shrine san miguel de allende feb. 2014

 

 

in december she was flanked at sunrise

with an out pouring of fresh flowers.

even before i heard the silver

notes of love ring out into the welcoming air

the fragrance of roses filled me.

at her feet the entire stretch of nearby shop keepers

had placed their small shrines

in a sea of flickering candles.

mexico rose at dawn to sing in honor of the feast day

of the virgin of guadalupe

continued all day, and long into the night.

i turned the corner and arrived just as a dozen 

mariachis trumpeted

devotion into the 

radiant air.

the entire courtyard of this market shrine

was transformed in a sea of

papel picados, banners, tissue paper flowers, all floating

on the bright breeze of love.

i stood transfixed once more at the outpouring of devotion

i have been swept away by since my very first 

journey into the heart of mexico.

as the mariachis finished one by one

they walked up to stand before 

lupita

holding their instruments to their hearts

they bowed their heads

in prayer.

before they walked away 

never taking their eyes from hers

they touched their cloistered fingers to their lips,

then open palmed, in a gesture of pure love

tossed her a kiss.

i returned to her late january

and could still feel the kisses,

moist on her cheeks.

 

san miguel de allende

where all you have to do is show up,

the magic and charm are always waiting!

come away with me

 

mornings with mary

 

there's something comforting

about following the light of elder women 

who have grown up together;

in a church whose bells sing to you 

each day you are fortunate enough

to be reborn in san miguel.

 

 

how gates open and part in their familiar hands,

and the twists and turns,

and steep circular stairways of life become

a cloister of safety

at their steadfast pace.

 

 

and i follow them;

until we all open up like white winged arches

to peace filled courtyards and the prayers of flowers.

 

 

and when they rest,

hands in the lap of long lives

on the green iron bench of shared and private memories,

silent in their contentment; they seem to 

hold up the very sky.

 

  

 

until that singular day

when life lifts each of us like a bell

that has longed to ring out an entire lifetime,

and across the fountain another woman calls

each one of us home

 

to rest in her light.

 

 

mornings with mary

trailblazing on the path of sisterlove

 

 

 

xo

 

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Loving Lupita with Rebecca Brooks and Laurie Zuckerman

all photos from the collection of

Laurie Zuckerman

Celebrate the 

miracle of La Virgen de Guadalupe

in historic San Miguel de Allende this December 10-19, 2013. 

Discover what Our Lady of Guadalupe,

the most beloved symbol of Mexico, represents for your personal life,

on my LOVING LUPITA tour of

Guadalupe festivals,

Christmas posadas, processions, folk artisans, and colonial churches.

Special guest

Laurie Beth Zuckerman

will lead a not to be missed two-day Memory Nicho workshop

that will enhance our exploration of La Lupita

and dovetail perfectly with all our excursions.

Laurie will guide you in creating a wooden shadowbox shrine

(in Spanish: nicho)

to contain all the symbols that have touched your soul in Mexico,

and express your adoration of La Lupita.

As the focal figure of your nicho,

you will make a reverse-glass painting of the Guadalupe,

employing the Medieval style used for painting sacred icons.

Laurie will provide all the templates you will need to create your version

of a traditional or contemporary image of La Lupita.

Inspired by Laurie's traditional memory jug techniques

in her popular MEMORY JUGS BOOK,

 you will embellish your wooden altar with found-object adornments

scavenged in the marketplaces of San Miguel,

and from your personal treasure trove at home.

Using paints and gilding,

the entire surface of your nicho will develop a richly-textured patina,

to mimic the antique gilded altars we will visit in

San Miguel's famed colonial churches.

 

For more information about our

Loving Lupita tour

and this remarkable workshop

with

Laurie Beth Zuckerman 

please leave a comment and i will happily contact you.

Read more about the history of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

 

 

 

postcards from paradise munecas de carton

 

growing up in san diego was my gateway to mexico.

a love affair that began when i was a tow headed freckle cheeked barely seven year old;

a love that continues to grow with ever year.

i remember being enamored with these munecas de carton since childhood.

imagine my joy when i finally traced the traditions of papier mache created on ancient

soapstone and plaster molds to a small town off the beaten path,

far from the heart of san miguel.

it took years of questions and sleuthing to finally

arrive at the door step of these delightful women and spend an afternoon

relishing an age old craft, alive and well in the hearts and hands 

of these masterful cartoneras!

come away with me and special guest altarista extraordinaire

laurie beth zuckerman

as we share all things mary, and the charm that is always waiting in

san miguel de allende

loving lupita

this is what i am drawn to,

seeker that i am.

to the heart of each moment,

the sacred, hidden somewhere in the ordinary.

the eternal conviction that we are all inextricably bound to each other.

the belief that divinity resides in each of us,

and the honest desire to coax it out of each fleeting moment.

 

 

postcards from paradise

 

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