The long-lasting automobile floats that cruised down East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue for many years as a part of the Virgen de Guadalupe procession in East Los Angeles have been changed by picket platform shrines hand-carried by volunteers as Catholics gathered Sunday for the 91st annual devotion.
Volunteers from half of the 30 parishes all through the Los Angeles Archdiocese who took half hoisted picket platforms referred to as andas on their shoulders and carried flowers, statues, work and murals of saints and the Virgen down the 0.7-mile parade route. A few dozen different church buildings entered bands, mariachis or Indigenous dancers within the oldest steady non secular parade in Los Angeles, which was based in 1931 by Mexican conflict refugees to honor the Virgen de Guadalupe, Mexico’s patron saint.
The associated fee-cutting shift, instigated by rising prices of metropolis parade permits, was welcomed by some who noticed the floats as a distraction from devotion of Mary and dismissed by those that cherished the pageantry.
“Folks count on to see these lovely floats stuffed with flowers and tributes to the Virgin,” stated Carlos Betancourt, 49, an organizer from St. Marcellinus in Commerce. “That is what we’ve been doing for … years by equally robust instances.”
A self-described former “drug addict, alcoholic and womanizer” who discovered his technique to non secular retreats and sobriety by prayers to Jesus’ mom in the summertime of 2013, Betancourt stated celebrations for “la jefa” shouldn’t be “economized.”
The andas are conventional through the devotion in some Mexican villages, however automobile floats within the East Los Angeles parade date again not less than to the Fifties, based on archival photographs. Father Julio Ramos, the occasion’s chief organizer, stated the price of permits for the car floats required by the cities of Los Angeles and Monterey Park had risen “very sharply.”
The andas have been additionally way more reasonably priced for parishioners who, regardless of combating inflation and COVID-19, have been spending hundreds of {dollars} on floats, he added. Volunteer teams raised funds for the parade permits.
A bunch of males carry an anda with flowers and a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe on East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue through the 91st annual Virgen de Guadalupe procession on Sunday in East Los Angeles.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Occasions)
Among the automobile floats have been little greater than vehicles adorned with flowers and a statue of the Virgin Mary within the truck mattress. Others have been extra elaborate and pictured scenes and even reenactments of the Catholic custom of the appearances made by the Virgen de Guadalupe to an Indigenous peasant named Juan Diego in December 1531 on Tepeyac Hill in Mexico Metropolis.
Rosa Flores, a 31-year parade participant and organizer at St. Mary’s of Boyle Heights, stated she was “shocked and saddened” by the shift to andas.
“We’ve had the floats for many years and this was a tricky transition for us,” she stated.
Flores, nonetheless, acknowledged that her church had saved lots on the “a lot less complicated” anda, which price $300. Final yr, the group spent $1,500 on a flower-covered automobile float.
Teresa Quezada, organizer for Our Girl of Guadalupe Church in East Los Angeles, stated her parish group spent $12,000 on its automobile float final yr.
Congregants Juan Carlos Cruz Rojas, left, Monica Arroyo and Alejandra Arroyo carry an anda, or non secular picket platform that carries the statue of the Virgen de Guadalupe, on Friday morning at Holy Cross Church in South Los Angeles.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Occasions)
The group this yr minimize the associated fee in half. Their anda included contemporary pink, white and pink roses surrounding a statue of the Virgen de Guadalupe with a backdrop of sunflowers and the quantity “100,” in reference to the church’s current anniversary.
“I applaud the concept of the andas as a result of these automobile floats have been changing into a race between teams spending an increasing number of annually,” she stated. “I like getting again to specializing in honoring the Virgin Mary and never ourselves.”
On Friday morning, a gaggle of eight parishioners from Holy Cross Church in South Los Angeles constructed a four-foot excessive, 15-pound anda draped with the Mexican flag.
The devotional show price $150 and featured a three-foot statue of the Virgen de Guadalupe surrounded by colourful synthetic roses and butterflies. Final yr, Holy Cross parishioners chipped in $1,200 for his or her automobile float.
Holy Cross parishioner Juan Carlos Cruz Rojas, a drywall installer, stated his church’s parade entry reminded him of the adoration of the Virgen de Guadalupe alongside the Costa Grande within the Mexican state of Guerrero.
“All of the celebrations again house have been very private as a result of the Virgin Mary was there in your presence,” Rojas, 37, stated. “So, to play music for her and dance for her when you’re carrying her is like being house.”
Erick Tamaypo, left, and Roberto Torres wrestle to maintain their anda with a statue of the Virgen de Guadalupe out of a rut alongside East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue through the 91st annual Virgen de Guadalupe procession on Sunday in East Los Angeles.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Occasions)
Alongside the route, spectators smiled and waved, but in addition complained concerning the modifications.
Elisa Juarez holds her 4-month-old grandson Oliver Rodriguez at Holy Cross Church in South Los Angeles on Friday morning. Congregants work on their anda carrying the statue of the Virgen de Guadalupe and adornments of flowers, rosaries and butterflies for entry into Sunday’s 91st annual Virgen de Guadalupe procession in East Los Angeles.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Occasions)
“That is good too, however I’m used to seeing the automobile floats,” stated Sofia Serrano, 17, who drove her grandmother from South Los Angeles to view the procession. “I’ve been coming right here my entire life and that is completely different than what I’ve seen.”
Final yr, Alfonso Somilleda cheered as his parish took first prize for greatest float. Epiphany of South El Monte created a 25-foot-long reproduction of the San Gabriel Mission full with an adjoining Virgen de Guadalupe tribute. About 40 volunteers have been wanted for the challenge.
The church’s smaller picket anda this yr was constructed by eight volunteers.
“I consider that is extra consistent with the processions you see in Mexico,” Somilleda stated. “So, it’s actually extra conventional than the automobile floats and extra private. However I believe you may also say these have been missed this yr.”
