Sample Essay 1

Mary Ellen Vales

Latino Theology and the Christian Tradition

28 March 2007

We Walk with Our Lady of Charity

Prior to reading Miguel H. Díaz’s article “We Walk-with Our Lady of Charity,” I was aware of the importance of Our Lady of Charity to the Cuban culture, but I did not understand the reasons why, nor did I grasp how much could be learned from this religious tradition. In his article, Díaz describes the history behind Our Lady of Charity, as well as reflects upon her religious significance, and ultimately demonstrates how this connects to the practice of popular religion by a specific culture.

The Story of Our Lady of Charity

A 17^th-century African slave in Cuba named Juan Moreno gave the first recorded testimony on the origins of the Our Lady of Charity tradition in a 1687 deposition. Moreno states that he, along with two other Amerindians, lived and worked in a copper mining community of Cuba called El Cobre. The three companions found the statue of Our Lady of Charity in the water, but her clothes were somehow completely dry. They told the Spanish authorities, and then returned to the living quarters of their settlement, where they placed the statue on an altar so that it could be venerated. Although it was placed upon the altar, it was said that the statue would disappear and then reappear from time to time. However, when it would return, the clothes on the statue would be wet. These miraculous occurrences, as well as the presence of Our Lady of Charity among the marginalized slaves of El Cobre contributed to her significance among the people.

Religious Significance

Mary’s “solidarity among the oppressed” seems to be the most important theme in this article (Díaz 161). Our Lady of Charity demonstrates her solidarity by appearing to these three companions who belong to a marginalized group of Cuba, and then by “walking” with them, as Díaz refers to it. Díaz states, “Our Lady of Charity begins her public ministry, if you will, among representatives of Cuba’s most exploited and poor classes: two Indians and a black slave, whom she fills with the joy of her presence” (158). Our Lady of Charity pointedly reaches out to this group of people in society. In this way, her presence and acknowledgment gives them hope in contrast to a society where they were subjugated and made to feel subhuman.

Just as she gave hope to Juan Moreno and his friends, Our Lady of Charity continues to give hope to people of today, such as Cuban Americans. Many Cuban Americans have come to the United States as exiles. As exiles, they experience the loss of their home country and must adjust to a new country where they often times feel unwelcome. The Marian symbol reaches out to them in this time of marginalization. Our Lady of Charity also specifically appeals to Cubans because of her relation with the water, which is what Cubans must cross in order to reach the United States. Díaz also notes how veneration to the Marian symbol has been important to Latinos in general. In our class we have already seen how Father Elizondo’s article on Our Lady of Guadalupe demonstrates the deep connection felt by Mexican Americans with the Marian symbol of Guadalupe. 

I found it interesting that Díaz points out how not only Cubans and Latinos can learn from Our Lady of Charity, but people of other groups can also benefit from her. By looking at Mary’s example of walking with the oppressed, all people can learn to become more “God-like” and “truly catholic.” It is important for non-marginalized people to recognize and realize why Mary reaches out to the oppressed. Díaz connects the significance of Mary’s outreach to the oppressed to other groups of society by noting that “oppressive relationships affect all persons within a given community” (159). Because the harm connected with this oppression negatively affects both parties of the relationship, it is evident that it is in the best interest of the oppressors to work to change this condition.

In my opinion this is trying to say that those in higher or powerful positions should reach out to the marginalized in an effort to become one with the poor. Mary and Jesus, despite their elevated position within the faith, live the lives of lowly Galilean peasants and become one with the poor in this way. Jesus shows this outreach by walking with the Galilean people, as Virgilio Elizondo points out in his book Galilean Journey. Elizondo emphasizes how God chooses the rejected of society through the example of Jesus choosing to be among the Galileans, who were looked down upon in their society. Just as Mary reaches out to the lowly, God and Jesus also make this effort. Their outreach makes a very strong statement in a world where we are often compelled to ingratiate ourselves and appeal only to those who are of higher status or wealth than us.

Popular Religion

Devotion to Our Lady of Charity represents a key aspect of the popular religion of Cubans. Popular religion is said to be the religious expression of a certain culture or group of people. Thus this religious expression often indicates special characteristics and values of an ethnic group. In his article, Díaz points out that “stories give rise to human identity” and Our Lady of Charity is a prime example of a story that contributes to the culture and identity of Cubans (156). Our Lady of Charity represents a rich part of Cuban history. She specifically chooses to appear to the community of El Cobre in a time of oppression in Cuba. Díaz notes how in this time “devotion is popular because it emerged from and flourished within the heart of a marginalized copper-mining community” (155). In other words, devotion was so fervent because the story was personalized to this group of people. I feel that the importance of Our Lady of Charity to Cubans of today can be related back to this personalization. Our Lady of Charity represents a unique aspect of the Cuban religious experience that cannot be fully appreciated by those who do not have this “insider” perspective.

Personalization of religion has proven to be an important way of keeping faith strong, as can be seen through some of the previous readings this semester. When many Latin Americans began to immigrate to the United States, the idea of a national parish was very important to them because it would have allowed them to have a personalized space to worship, in which they could take ownership. For this very reason, some U.S. Latino groups preferred to take spaces such as the basement of a church so that they could personalize their rituals and devotions in their own way. I feel that the personalization of religion is central to strengthening faith, and for this reason, popular religion is so vital in cultures such as that of Cubans, among whom faith and hope are frequently tried.

Our Lady of Charity also highlights the interconnectedness of religion and culture in the broader context of Latino theology. Part of the reason why Our Lady of Charity is such an important religious symbol is because it incorporates the history and culture of Cuba. The story calls to mind the unique history of Cubans through their Taíno past. Instead of passing over the actions of the indigenous people, as has been done frequently throughout history, the story focuses on the interaction between the Taínos and Our Lady of Charity. The Taínos are the “main characters” of this story. Therefore, the retelling of this tale cannot gloss over the indigenous story; it will always present at least a part of the Taíno past of Cuban history to whomever hears it.  

Similarly, the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe represents for Mexicans their indigenous past, something that is unique to their community. Because this history allows for the personalization of religion, it seems that it would be nearly impossible to completely separate culture and religion. Paul Barton’s article “Jesus Es Mi Rey Soberano” demonstrates an example of the integration of culture and religion through the Mexican-American Protestant group. Mexican-American Protestants began to incorporate certain Catholic elements into their religious practices simply because these elements were so interconnected with their culture. Examples of these Catholic traditions include the celebration of Ash Wednesday or Las Posadas. In sum, I feel that because popular religion ties together culture and religion which in turn brings personalization, the significance of popular religion cannot be overlooked, as has been done by some theologians of the past.

In his article, “We Walk-with Our Lady of Charity” Díaz demonstrates the religious significance of this Marian symbol to the Cuban community, which in turn indicates the importance of popular religion to this group. Although Díaz makes some excellent points, I think it would have been interesting if he had demonstrated the ways other cultures have incorporated their own personalized symbols into religion. Different styles of devotion to the Marian symbol can be found all over the world. The different representations of the image of Mary are one way of noticing this specialized devotion practiced by various countries, such as Our Lady of Lourdes in France or the Black Madonna of Częstochowa in Poland. I realize that Díaz is discussing a specific topic, but I think it would have been pertinent if he had brought up the universality of the Marian symbol in the world. One point that Díaz brings up is that in a certain church, a figurine of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the altar was eventually replaced by a European Madonna. While I understand why this is unjust, I also feel that the author may have also considered that perhaps this European image appealed to the majority of the parishioners, and thus served a larger goal. My only wish for the article would be that Díaz would make more universal connections in his analysis. Ultimately, however, I enjoyed his article. Although I’m half Cuban, I did not know the history of this Marian tradition, and I feel now that I have a better understanding of my background, as well as the religious life of my father.