La Candelaria

Santa Fe Plaza, 2009
Pasteboard and tempera paints
Santa Fe, New Mexico

For a festival on September 9, 2009, the trees of the plaza were decorated with posters of the Virgin Mary and various saints. This one follows the Candelaria tradition of placing crowns on both heads. Instead of a candle, Mary holds a stylized leaf, perhaps of oak. (It does not resemble the leaves on the tree.)

The roses are a common symbol of the Virgin. The one on the right doubles as a sun, corresponding to the swirly moon on the left. The stalk of corn (maize) represents the indigenous people who have cultivated this plant for many centuries.

The black shape in the bottom register recalls images of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who stands on a crescent moon.

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Photographed in the plaza by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.