Becoming the “Our” in Our Lady of Guadalupe: Liberationist Ethics for Chicanas through the Embodiment of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Chicanas have faced oppression historically through colonization and its rippling effects of machismo and marianismo. Paulo Freire states that the fundamental theme of our epoch is domination. If, by extension, domination is a fundamental theme in Chicana lives, then liberation is an objective to be achieved. In this research, I argue that one way Chicanas have achieved their own liberation is through embodying Our Lady of Guadalupe by reinterpreting the icon to reflect themselves and those within their community. I examine the artwork of Ester Hernandez, Alma López, and Yolanda López. Through the form of embodying Guadalupe, Chicanas experience liberation by engaging in conscientization that is political and spiritual. By becoming Guadalupe, Chicanas are active agents in shaping their history and future, rejecting colonialism, machismo, marianismo, and any social construction of Chicanas that functions to exclude and/or oppress, thereby experiencing a form of self and communal liberation.