Two gigantic murals of the Virgin of Guadalupe were retouched by fervent believers on two mountains in the state of Hidalgo. One is located in Macuila, municipality of Metztitlán, in the Sierra de Hidalgo, and the other on the mercury mine of the Camargo hill, in Peñamiller, Querétaro.
In the case of the Virgin of Macuila, an indigenous town in the municipality of Metztitlán, it is a multicoloured image 120 metres high by 60 metres wide, that is, seven thousand 200 square metres, painted on a nearby hill by the residents of nearby towns.
It was made nearly 20 years ago on the initiative of the artisans of Macuila, Hualula and other towns in Metztitlán as well as the neighbouring municipality of Eloxochitlán.
According to the residents, although the artisans had no experience in mural painting, they managed to make the calculations for the imaginary outline of the Virgin.
Before starting the work, a committee of neighbors was entrusted with cleaning the hill, that is, removing the weeds that are in the place.
Then, with the help of 200 volunteers, over the course of 15 days the stones within the imaginary outline of the figure of the Guadalupe were sprayed with oil paint of various colors.
The task of repainting the rocks is carried out every year, on the eve of December 12, the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Ubaldo, one of the locals said that although in recent years that region of the mountains has been affected by drought, which even caused the drying up of the Metztitlán Lagoon, in the last months of 2024 there were incessant rains that “stained” the virgin.
For this reason, every year at the beginning of December, brigades of volunteers are organized to climb and walk around the hill, located 1,300 meters above sea level. They do it with portable paint sprayers that they themselves buy with their own resources.
Thus, the image of the Virgin of Macuila is visible for several dozen kilometers around and is considered by fervent believers as the “Protector of the Sierra.”
The Monumental Virgin of Camargo
The other image, smaller than that of Macuila, is found on the Camargo hill, in the municipality of Peñamiller, located in the northern part of the state of Querétaro, in the semi-desert region.
The painting is approximately 70 meters high and 40 meters wide and was painted on the rocky hill at the base of which is the entrance to a mercury mine.
The locals claim that the Virgin is the work of the miners who work in the mercury vein, so that she protects them from suffering any kind of mishap.
Before entering the mine to work, the miners cross themselves and pray to the Guadalupana, to whose image they direct their gaze with devotion.
Source: jornada
