PORT TOWNSEND — A procession with a mariachi band will liven up the streets tonight as the Spanish-speaking community holds a celebration in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, “the queen of Mexico.”
“Everyone is invited,” said Maria Bower Stewart, a member of St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church.
The celebration will start at 9 p.m. in front of La Isla Restaurant, 1145 Water St., next to Don’s Pharmacy and Swain’s Outdoor store.
From there, a procession will wind through downtown and up the hill to the church, at 1335 Blaine St.
Mass will be celebrated in Spanish at 10 p.m., with the service printed in Spanish and English. The mariachi band will play for the service and a fiesta afterward in the parish hall.
Last year’s “Serenata a la Guadalupana,” or evening procession and Mass, drew about 60 people. A six-piece mariachi band from Seattle provided music, and red roses were passed out.
The procession was led by Erica Escalera, dressed as Our Lady of Guadalupe, the name given to Mary in Mexico by an Aztec man named Juan Diego who said he saw her in a vision in 1531.
Portrayals in procession
Escorting Escalera was Brian Chairez portraying Juan Diego, followed by four men carrying the statue of Mary.
Called an imagen, it was surrounded by bouquets of red roses, representing the flowers Mary presented to Juan Diego as proof of her appearance.
According to the story, when he put the roses in his pancho and took them to show the local priests, they discovered an image of Guadalupe impressed upon the garment.
This is the second year a public procession has taken place in Port Townsend.
