MEXICO CITY
The Ramírez Navarro family couldn’t fail to pay homage to their beloved protector, especially in these most trying of times.
“We come every year to give thanks to
la virgencita, and ask for her help,” said Brenda Ramírez Navarro, 23, who lugged an almost life-size statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe. “We had hoped to see her again this year. But unfortunately, we couldn’t.”
The family confronted an almost unimaginable scene: The shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, site of the one of the world’s largest annual religious pilgrimages, shuttered on the days when multitudes of worshipers some on their knees, some in Indigenous dress, some dancing, singing and otherwise displaying raw devotion would normally gridlock the area around the iconic venue in the northern reaches of Mexico City.