Homepage | Archive | Publications | Ordering | the "Y" files Venerated Virgins of Mexico: an occasional series
The Virgin of Tetiz Its facade freshly painted pink in the new year, the 18th century church of Tetiz stands ready to welcome the throng of visitors who attend the resident Virgin of the Assumption during the festival of Candelaria.
Second only to the Virgin of Izamal, the Virgin of Tetiz today enjoys the greatest devotion of any marian santo in Yucatan. Thereby hangs a tale:
Early in 1746 the newly appointed Spanish bishop of Yucatan, Francisco Martínez de Tejada had occasion to pass through Tetiz, then an impoverished visita of the main regional mission at Hunucmá. The church, such as it was, was described as, "... made of sticks and straw, and in the final stages of decay." As he approached the simple wooden image of the Virgin on the altar, the bishop recognised her features as those of a pious but poor woman he had once known in Seville, who, on receiving alms of a silver peso, had promised to rebuild "a ruined house for herself and her son."
When the astonished prelate raised the hem of the Virgin's robe to kiss it, he saw the same peso coin resting underneath. Amazed and inspired by this seemingly miraculous sign, the bishop immediately undertook to build a new church on the same spot - the present church - and dedicate it to the Virgin of The Assumption.
The Church
Raised on a platform built with stones from a demolished Maya pyramid nearby, the single nave church extends westward from the remains of a 16th century chapel, terminating in a facade with a lofty espadaña bordered by delicate baroque scrolls.
This distinctive church front is strikingly similar to several other Yucatecan facades of the same period - notably at Itzimná, Tahdzibichén and Cacalchén - all of them rebuilt during the stewardship of Bishop Martínez de Tejada.
The pilgrimage of the Virgin
Late in January every year, pilgrims begin to arrive in Tetiz from other communities in the area, including a contingent from Hunucmá whose task is to confirm the "presence" of the Virgin in her sanctuary and prepare for her ceremonial journey to the larger town, some 8 kms distant.
Then in early February, to coincide with feast of Candlemas, after a rousing sendoff accompanied by fireworks, music, the raising of banners and the throwing of confetti, the Virgin of Tetiz is enthroned on a weighty anda and then borne on the shoulders of designated cargadores - members of local fraternities and gremios carrying their estandartes or banners- in arduous but joyful procession to Hunucmá, where, for two weeks, she presides in state over the town fiesta on a special altar.
After her two week stay in Hunucmá, the Virgin returns to her sanctuary in Tetiz, accompanied by a procession of the faithful - sometimes numbering as many as four thousand people.
