December 18, 2009
Guadalupe celebration draws big crowd at Nativity for Mass, festival
With Christian in his arms, Jorge and Sylvia enter Nativity Church for the Guadalupe celebration. (Message photo by Paul R. Leingang) Click for a larger version.
About 300 people came to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Nativity Church in Evansville Dec. 12. The events of the day included the Rosary, Mass, dinner and dances from the Hispanic and Apache cultures — including an extraordinary “Deer Dance” with a story of an extraordinary blessing to be told.
The celebration began at 4:30 p.m. with the recitation of the Rosary during a candle-lit procession around the church parking lot.
Bishop Gerald A. Gettelfinger presided at the Mass at 5:30 p.m., along with Father Henry Kuykendal, parish pastor, and assisted by Deacon John McMul-len.
Little girls in white dresses, others in colorful costumes, and little boys dressed up like St. Juan Diego processed into the church, carrying flowers to be placed on a special altar set up in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
Also in the procession, along with the Apache dancers, was Jorge Macklis in the garb he would wear for the Yaqui Deer Dance — including the head of a deer affixed to his head.
Nativity’s basement cafeteria was decorated for the dinner and ongoing celebration with balloons and pennants in the colors of the Mexican flag. A statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe was again prominent, this time on a mountain like structure brightly lit and festooned with flowers.
All of the dancers for the evening offered their efforts to the Virgin Mary. They included Jorge Macklis who offered the Yaqui Deer Dance (La Danza del Venado) in thanksgiving for the birth of his son, Christian.
Sylvia Macklis had a miscarriage in 2008, according to a previous story published in the Message. She and Jorge came to the Guadalupe celebration that year, and asked for a blessing from Bishop Gettelfinger. Their son was born nine months later.
The Deer Dance comes from tribal customs in Mexico. It symbolizes the struggle between good and evil, through a confrontation between a sacred deer and aggressive coyotes and hunters, bringing to mind parallels of cultural, philosophical, and spiritual struggles as well, according to Pilar Tirado at the parish.
Macklis in traditional garb danced between rows of tables in the cafeteria and in a central open space in front of the image of the Blessed Virgin. His movements mimiced the movements of a deer. With elegant jumps, turns of the head, and proud body movement, the life of the deer is recounted; traveling through the forest, jumping into the air, grazing in the meadows and meeting the hunter. The dance ends as the deer is slain with an arrow.
A Matachines dance, another tribal tradition, was performed by the youth group at the parish.
Jorge Macklis returned later in folkloric costume, and along with Sylvia, performed Polkas Nortenas.
The evening meal was provided as a courtesy by Restaurant Acapulco, Restaurant Cancún, Restaurant La Cabaña, U.S. Food Service and the Pepsi distributorship of Jason Shrodes.