Virgin de Guadalupe Procession

The processions which celebrate the Virgin de Guadalupe have officially started here in Zihuatanejo. Each procession is sponsored by a local business or group, this one was supported by a hotel and restaurant here at the beach, and can involve anywhere from a dozen people to a couple of hundred. There will undoubtably be processions from all areas of town over the next four days, culminating with a huge fiesta on 12 December, the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe which commemorates the traditional account of her first appearances on the hill of Tepeyac near Mexico City in 1531. All the alters, like the one shown here, that have been marched in over the previous days, will be lined up at the church for everyone to admire.