Vayan Con Dios Essay, Research Paper

Vayan Con Dios

Vayan con Dios which means go with god was an expression Dona Guadalupe said to Don Benito and Victoriano before they headed out for the gold the second time.

I noticed that most of the characters in the book seem to be religious and have a strong belief in God. Throughout the book, Dona Guadalupe and Victoriano speak of God and his miracles many times.This led me to believe that the people of Mexico were very religious in the sense that they associated the things that happen in their daily lives with God.

Since my term vayan con dios was an expression, there wasn t really much information I could find on it. With the help of Mrs. Edwards, I started to research on why people in mexico were so religious. Although Mexican governments since the revolution have been unsupportive of religion, more than 95% of the population professes to believe in Catholicism. . This is because in 1523, Hernan Cortes and his Cnquistadors, the first Roman Catholic missionaries began the religious conquest of mexico. From there, Catholicism was spread throughout mexico. Since 1531, the most binding symbol of the Church has been the miracle of the dark-skinned Virgin of Guadalupe. This story begins on Dec. 9, 1531 with a man named Juan Diego. He was crossing a berren hill called Tepeyac in the outskirts of mexico to attend church. Virgin Mary, appeared before his eyes and desired him to have a church built on Tepeyac hill and asked him to ask Bishop Juan de Zumarraga. The bishop demanded he needed proof of the encounter first. Juan avoided the hill for several days but on december 12, he crossed the hill to find a priest to see his very ill uncle. The Virgin appeared again and Juan told her he needed proof of his account. She told him to pick roses from the hill and give them to Zumarraga as a sign. He then went to Zumarraga and let the roses spill before him. The image of the Virgin Mary was imprinted on Juan Diego s cloak. With this proof, a small church was then constructed on the hill.

The Roman Catholic missionaries that Hernan Cortes brought to Mexico including this early account of Virgin Mary started the spread of Catholicism throughout Mexico. This is the reason why there are so many mexicans that have the belief in God. Vayan con Dios (go with god) is just an example of how Dona Guadalupe uses the religious term and shows how much she and her family believes in God.