More than 75 people joined together at St. Paul Catholic Church to celebrate the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe this past Sunday evening. (Courtesy / Delores Gonzalez)

More than 75 people joined together at St. Paul Catholic Church to celebrate the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe this past Sunday evening. (Courtesy / Delores Gonzalez)

Juneau Hispanic community celebrates the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe

It’s the group’s first time hosting the event in Juneau

This story has been updated to correctly identify Delores Cervantes and include the number of people who attended the event.

This past Sunday more than 200 people joined together at St. Paul Catholic Church to celebrate the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, an important celebration for people in the Mexican community.

The event was hosted by the Juneau Hispanic Ministry, a recently formed group that invites people in Juneau to celebrate Hispanic culture and traditions. The Sunday event featured a rosary, holy mass, a play and dinner, with tamales, barbacoa, beans and Mexican rice donated by the owner of Mar y Sol restaurant.

Imanol Vera (right) smiles for a photo after staring as Juan Diego in the Sunday evening play a part of a celebration of the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Paul Catholic Church. (Courtesy / Delores Gonzalez)

Imanol Vera (right) smiles for a photo after staring as Juan Diego in the Sunday evening play a part of a celebration of the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Paul Catholic Church. (Courtesy / Delores Gonzalez)

Delores Cervantes, the coordinator of the group, said the event was a major success and she is excited to spread the word about the group to the Juneau community to invite more people to join in on future celebrations. She said Lady of Guadalupe is a very important celebration for the Hispanic community, and she was happy to be able to share it with all people in Juneau.

The Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a widely celebrated catholic holiday that commemorates the meeting of Mexican peasant Juan Diego and Mexico’s patron saint Virgin Mary in Mexico City on Dec. 9 and 12, 1531. Our Lady of Guadalupe is often seen as a symbol of religious devotion, identity and patriotism for people of Mexican heritage.

“It’s a very important celebration and it means a lot to us,” she said. “It means our belief, our traditions — it means everything for us.”

Cervantes, who has lived in Juneau for 35 years and is originally from Mexico, emphasized that anyone in Juneau is welcome to join the group to celebrate and learn more about the Hispanic community and said the group plans to host community celebrations next year for holidays like Cinco De Mayo and Mexican Independence Day.

“Our main goal is to grow up as a community, we welcome everybody,” she said. “I feel that right now our community has been kind of quiet and we want to raise our voice and say ‘we’re here,’ that’s our main goal.”

• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807. Follow her on Twitter at @clariselarson.

More in Neighbors

The author holds her mother’s hand two hours before she died. (Photo by Gabriella Hebert)
Living and Growing: Spiritual care at end of life

My favorite Gold Creek trail was damaged in one of the 2024… Continue reading

Tortilla casserole ready to serve. (Photo by Patty Schied)
Cooking For Pleasure: Tortilla casserole with leftover turkey

This is a great way to use leftover turkey should you have… Continue reading

Brent Merten is the pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Juneau. (Courtesy photo)
Living and Growing: The most famous person you’ll ever meet

The most famous person I’ve ever met was Gerald R. Ford. It… Continue reading

One of countless classic combinations possible with Thanksgiving leftovers. (Stu Spivack / CC BY-SA 2.0)
Gimme A Smile: Please, take home some leftovers

The holiday season is upon us! Over the next few months, we… Continue reading

Jacqueline F. Tupou is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Juneau. (Courtesy photo)
Living and Growing: A life hack for holiday happiness

Do you wish you were more happy? Do you see others experiencing… Continue reading

Pumpkin cheesecake with a pecan crust being served. (Photo by Patty Schied)
Cooking For Pleasure: Pumpkin cheesecake with a pecan crust

For those of you who struggle with trying to figure out how… Continue reading

Page Bridges of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Juneau. (Photo courtesy of Page Bridges)
Living and Growing: The healing power of art

I found this awesome quote about art from Googling: “Art has the… Continue reading

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Living and Growing: A list of do’s to reclaim Shabbat

To be silent the whole day, see no newspaper, hear no radio,… Continue reading

“Princess Sophia” stranded on Vanderbilt Reef, Oct. 24, 1918. (Alaska State Library Historical Collection, ASL-P87-1700)
Living and Growing: The storms of the Fall

Psalm 19 1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the… Continue reading