Born last Millennium, last Century, I was known as a Baby Boomer. I was the daughter of a Brit mom and a Lithuanian dad. I was always hardworking for the fashion and looking for signs about my future. I had been raised that way. My Mum was famous for reading the tea leaves left in the bottom of my afternoon tea. My dad was a hardworking factory worker . If he could do factory work, I could toil in the fields of shade tobacco to buy a navy blue tennis sweater. As a Baby Boomer, I had a unique experience of remembering the world long before the cell phone , color TV or microwave arrived let alone microwave popcorn. I was 40 when I had my first microwave popcorn. Instead the 50’s brought the me the cultural myth and modern folklore of the Barbie doll. I was the daughter of immigrants wanting to be Barbie. Barbie was my vital connection to American culture. More than anything I wanted to fit in. Barbie inspired “limitless potential”. And more than anything, I wanted to be a doctor, a pediatrician . My parents were from the “Silent Generation”, known for their resilience and strong work ethic, discouraged me saying “girls don’t become doctors”.

Barbie represented an “evolving symbol of American identity, post war-war consumerism, and the ideals of woman hood.” She was created by American business woman, Ruth Handler. Ruth and her husband , Elliot , co-founded Mattel Creations. While Elliot created the next Mattel big seller, Chatty Cathy, Ruth wanted to create a “lifelike, anatomically correct adult doll that would allow young girls to dream dreams of the future .”In 1959, Barbie made her debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York. She was born March 9, 1959, in the fictional town of Willows, Wisconsin . Not only was she a Midwesterner girl but a Pisces who had a British cousin named Francie Fairchild. Barbie was named after Ruth’s daughter, Barbara. Ruth was inspired watching her daughter play with paper dolls pretending they were doctors, lawyers, and astronauts. In this young woman’s mind the possibilities for a woman were endless…dream and it will happen.

After leaving Costa Rica, I found myself yearning for a more holistic approach to life and my desire to help others heal had returned in earnest. Following my heart , I found myself driving a 20 foot U-haul across the country to the Southwest, drawn to Santa Fe. Arriving in Santa Fe on 12/12 with a burning desire to make this happen. Santa Fe was widely known as a “healing vortex”. Where Hispanic mysticism , ancient indigenous practices, and the “new age holistic wellness” blended together with the tri-culture of Hispanic, Native Americans and Anglo influences. This is what Costa Rica had ignited in me. Soon my future and “Barbie” collided with the Guadalupe. I would discover I had arrived on the Feast Day of the Guadalupe. It was a sign for what would unfold in my Santa Fe life.

The Guadalupe is a significant cultural and spiritual symbol for the Americas. The story that I had was that on December 12 the Virgin Mary had appeared to a poor monk dressed in a brown robe. The monk was rushing to see the bishop.What I would soon discover was that in December of 1531 on Tepeyac Hill (present-day Mexico City) Mary appeared to an indigenous Mexican peasant named Juan Diego dressed in a tilma (a cactus-fiber robe). While on his usual morning walk from his home to the nearby Franciscan mission he passed by the hill at Tepeyac where he was encountered by the Virgin Mary. This would be one of four apparitions. He was given a message for the bishop to build a chapel in her honor so she could help those in need. Upon telling the bishop, Fray Juan Zumarraga , Juan Diego was told to come back another day. On his journey home, Juan Diego encountered the Virgin Mary again on Tepeyac. Diego shared his failure however Mary reassured him that he was chosen to deliver her message. When Juan Diego returned to visit the bishop,the bishop asked for a sign to prove that the apparition was truly from heaven. Juan Diego returned immediately to Tepeyac. Mary agreed to provide one the next day. Diego was delayed and returned to Tepeyac two days later and once again encountered Mary. Sharing the bishop’s request, Mary directed him to climb the hill to gather the-out-of-season Castillian roses . He obeyed her and found an abundance of roses unseasonably in bloom on the frozen hillside where cactus and scrub normally grow. He gathered the roses and filled his brown cactus-fiber robe with them. Upon arriving to see the bishop, Diego open his robe and the roses fell out, leaving the miraculous image of “Our Lady of Guadalupe” also known as ” The Miracle of the Roses”.

According to the “Truths” about the Miracle of the Guadalupe, she is understood to be a young Indian maiden and this image is the only “true picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe” in existence. The image has remained intact for over 400 years. While the life span of a tilma cactus fiber robe is about 30 years. In the image, her robe is blue-green which are the colors of royalty. More than interesting are the stars on her robe show the constellations in the exact position as appeared before dawn on the morning of Dec 12, 1531. So began the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Construction began in March 1695 and opened in May 1709. It is now known as the Old Basillica of Guadalupe where every year on December 12 , it draws millions of pilgrims to Mexico City. It is the most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the world. By 1795 at the end of Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (the road north from Mexico City to Santa Fe ) The Santuario de Guadalupe was constructed in Santa Fe.

The Santuario de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe is an historic Catholic Shrine in Santa Fe. It is the oldest church in the United States dedicated to The Guadalupe. Though built sometime between the 1700s and early 1800s, the exact date is unknown. Records of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe suggest it was built around 1795. The church was a simple cruciform building with thick adobe walls. Over the years it fell into disrepair. When the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad arrived in Santa Fe in 1880, Archbishop Jean-Bapiste Lamy had the church repaired to serve the newly arrived English speaking by train. A native of France, the Archbishop had the church remodeled with a roof and a steeple. Unfortunately in 1922, the steeple and roof were destroyed by fire. The church was then rebuilt in the Mission Revival style with curved parapets and a tile roof. By 1961, a new church was built next door and is no longer an active parish church. The Santuario is now listed on the U.S. Historic district – Contributing Property and NM State Register of Cultural Properties. It is used for monthly masses and on The Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe celebrated annually on December 12.