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One of the most visited catholic sanctuaries in the world, la Villa de
Guadalupe, receives approximately 20 million people a year who come to Mexico City from all parts of the world.
The sanctuary of la Villa de Guadalupe receives a great number of
pilgrimages a year; up to 500 which are formed by groups coming from all social
classes, both from Mexico and abroad.
This massive phenomenon becomes all the more noticeable as the date to
celebrate the Virgin of Guadalupe, every 12th of December, comes
closer. During that time the number of visitors can climb to 3 million,
counting all the devotes and the dancers who offer their spectacular dances of
prehispanic origin to the "Patrona de Tepeyac" ?and of course all the vendors
with anything to sell from religious items to edibles.
The Villa is an architectural complex whose main construction is the
basilica of Guadalupe, consecrated in 1976 and with the capacity to shelter
10,000 people. The image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, supposedly a source of
various miracles, is to be found in the basilica. Other historical monuments to be found over
there include the Old Basilica which was built in 1709 and which nowadays works
as a the museum of vice regal art; the baroque-style chapels of Pocito and
Cerrito, the latter one being the first sanctuary ever built in this place and
the pantheon of Tepeyac which also gives shelter to a museum behind its
beautiful façade.
