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Abstract

This article analyzes certain general characteristics concerning the feast day celebrating the Virgin of Candelaria (Candlemas) in some communities in Latin America, in particular in Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Peru, and Argentina, based on ethnographic information collected among people who coordinate liturgy groups in their respective parish communities. This celebration, which expresses profound symbolic elements, attracts a large following, when sacred acts interrupt the secular nature of ordinary life with a ritual that encourages unconditional surrender, support, and love for life. At the same time the text updates some of the religious symbols that are traditional in nurturing collective identities throughout the subcontinent.