Young performers will gather Sunday to honor the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico's patron saint, with song and dance at the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun.
La Fiesta de Guadalupe is an annual tradition for the DeGrazia Gallery at 6300 N. Swan Road. The event, to honor the saint often referred to as Our Lady of Guadalupe, is held each year on the Sunday nearest to the Virgin's feast day, which is Dec. 12.
Performers at this year's event will include young singers and dancers from Mariachi Tesoro de Tucson, Ballet Folklorico Tapatio and the Rio Rico Folkloric Dance Club, said Susan Vance, the gallery's events coordinator and marketing director.
A Yaqui Deer Dance ceremony and a procession of Las Posadas will be presented by students from Carrillo Elementary Magnet School, and Yaqui vendors will sell American Indian food, Vance said.
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La Fiesta de Guadalupe has been an important tradition at the gallery since renowned local artist Ted DeGrazia completed the Mission in the Sun there in 1952 and dedicated it to the Virgin.
DeGrazia, who died in 1982, did many paintings and sketches of Our Lady of Guadalupe during his career. He began celebrating her feast day with members of the Pascua Yaqui American Indian village, who helped him to build the mission, Vance said.
What started as a small celebration to honor the saint grew over the years and was briefly suspended when crowds became too large, she said.
Last year's event drew about 1,500 people, and the outdoor festival continues to grow, Vance said.
"It's really fun," she said. "Everybody has a good time, and the performances are wonderful."
One of the fiesta's main events will be a procession of Las Posadas, in which costumed students from Carrillo Elementary Magnet School will symbolically reenact the biblical story of Mary and Joseph's search for a place for Jesus' birth. In the Mexican tradition, the students will sing songs in Spanish and carry a nacimiento, or nativity scene, in a procession that will end with the lighting of luminarias on the mission's roof.
"This is a tradition of long standing," said Marvin Boyer Carrillo Elementary Magnet School's music teacher, who leads the after-school program that organizes the procession. The students do a larger procession every year near the school at 440 S. Main Ave., a tradition that started in 1936, Boyer said.
The annual Fiesta de Guadalupe is an important cultural celebration for many living in the Southwest.
"It's celebrating la Virgen de Guadalupe because she's our mother, and that's something special to me," said 26-year-old Veronica Baca Lopez, a dance instructor for Ballet Folklorico Tapatio, which will perform Sunday. "It's celebrating her having baby Jesus, bringing him into the world."
La Fiesta de Guadalupe lasts from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Parking is available on site and at the neighboring office plaza at 6262 N. Swan Road, within walking distance of the gallery, Vance said. There also will be a free shuttle service from the shopping plaza at the northeast corner of North Swan Road and East Sunrise Drive.
Admission to the festival is free, but donations to the Community Food Bank are requested, Vance said.
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If you go
What: La Fiesta de Guadalupe.
Where: DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun, 6300 N. Swan Road.
When: Sunday.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission: Free, but donations to the Community Food Bank are requested.
Parking: On site and at the neighboring office plaza, 6262 N. Swan Road. A free shuttle service will run from the shopping plaza at the northeast corner of North Swan Road and East Sunrise Drive.
