Traces of the Virgen of Guadalupe of México in the court of Madrid

Abstract

The presence of the Virgin of Guadalupe of Mexico in Madrid during the 17th and 18th centuries has been dealt only sporadically until now. This article compiles a series of documentary and artistic data that provide evidence of the intense propagation of this marian phenomenon both at a private level and in the spheres of courtly power. Whether through the publication of sermons, the erection of altars, the possession of images or even the foundation of a specific congregation, the cult of Guadalupe became one of the most important of the time. The dynamics of an influential indian elite, together with the pressure exerted by a faction of creoles from New Spain settled in the capital, had a decisive impact on the establishment of this devotional movement, which was not exempt from clear political interests in the eyes of the Crown.