Sources: Todos Santos?
Roadside Shrines in Baja California Sur - A Photo Report
“It is the saints who are admirable in their images, whether or not they are well and artfully made . . . Pay attention not to the maker, but to the work itself.”
— Cayetano Cabrera y Quintero (Creole Scholar and priest in Mexico City, 1746, transl. by William B. Taylor)
According to Mexican Catholic belief, on December 9, 1531, the Virgin Mary (Virgen de Guadalupe) appeared to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, an indigenous local, on Tepeyac Hill, a place where an aztec goddess was once worshipped. At the virgin’s request, a catholic shrine was built on the spot where the apparition took place. The event became pivotal in the conversion of the native people to Christianity during the Spanish colonial period, and a fundamental part of the Mexican national identity later. The Shrine is now located in the Basilica of our Lady Guadelupe in Mexico City, and became one of the most popular pilgrimage sites for Catholicism in the world.
Since then, small shrines, or “capillitas,” have become a familiar sight throughout the country, even in the most deserted corners. A testament to the far reaching influence of the Catholic church. Often, the shrines are built where the Virgencita’s protection is most needed—beside winding roads, outside hospitals, and at the entrances of towns. Adorned with fresh (or plastic) flowers and candles, these sites serve as places for prayer, reflection and solace.
In the searing sun of Baja California, where roads stretch long and deserted, colorful capillitas dot the barren landscape and offer a moment of respite for truckers, tourists and locals alike. Most honor Guadalupe or other Catholic saints, while others display images of the deceased. A consistent reminder of the coexistence between life and death.
Despite Mexico’s strong Catholic devotion, many of them are littered with trash—empty beer bottles, broken glass candles and toilet paper—a stark contrast to their intended sacred purpose, and a testament to the paradoxical nature of humanity.
The shrines on the road to Todos Santos make a holy presence felt along the journey, but saints are rarely found among the living.
(photos by harry caul, 2023)
PART I - ANALOG
PART II - DIGITAL
Beautiful pictures! I love the contrast between the analog and digital ones.
Here, there are a lot of churches too, all built in another era. Some are active, and some seem stuck in a past time. The grass is still cut, but it seems life has left those places a long time ago...