Synopses & Reviews
and#147;and#8217;Piety is not something you talk about, it is something you do,and#8217; writes Elaine Peand#241;a towards the beginning of this excellent bookand#151;itself a wonderful
doing. Peand#241;a participates actively as an engaged scholar. This is necessary reading for scholars of religion, performance studies, Latino/a Studies, and popular culture.and#8221; and#151;Diana Taylor, author of
The Archive and the Repertoire: Performing Cultural Memory in the Americasand#147;Peand#241;a provides a major contribution to our understanding of sacred space, of the world of contemporary Mexican migrants, and of the vibrant ways in which Catholics honor the Virgin of Guadalupe. This is an important book about a transnational devotion, a book that powerfully and sympathetically explores how devotees perform piety in often surprising ways.and#8221; and#151;Stephen Pitti, author of The Devil in Silicon Valley: Northern California, Race and Mexican Americans
and#147;Performing Piety offers a textured and empathetic approach to religion in practice. Peand#241;a is a shining example of the materialist turn in the study of religion: religion approached not as decontextualized beliefs or free-floating symbolic systems, but as thoroughly embodied practices embedded in everyday life. This book is clearly on par with the work of Robert Orsi, David Hall, Leigh Schmidt and other distinguished scholars of the and#145;lived religionand#8217; school.and#8221; and#151;Manuel A. Vand#225;squez, author of More than Belief: A Materialist Theory of Religion
Review
"[A] lively and truly transnational study."
--Hispanic American Historical Review
Review
and#8220;I strongly suggest religion and art students read this book.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;[A] lively and truly transnational study.and#8221;
Review
“I strongly suggest religion and art students read this book.” Hispanic American Historical Review
Synopsis
The Virgin of Guadalupe, though quintessentially Mexican, inspires devotion throughout the Americas and around the world. This study sheds new light on the long-standing transnational dimensions of Guadalupan worship by examining the production of sacred space in three disparate but interconnected locationsand#151;at the sacred space known as Tepeyac in Mexico City, at its replica in Des Plaines, Illinois, and at a sidewalk shrine constructed by Mexican nationals in Chicago. Weaving together rich on-the-ground observations with insights drawn from performance studies, Elaine A. Peand#241;a demonstrates how devoteesand#8217; ritualsand#151;pilgrimage, prayers, and festivalsand#151;develop, sustain, and legitimize these sacred spaces. Interdisciplinary in scope, Performing Piety paints a nuanced picture of the lived experience of Guadalupan devotion in which different forms of knowing, socio-economic and political coping tactics, conceptions of history, and faith-based traditions circulate within and between sacred spaces.
About the Author
Elaine A. Peand#241;a is Assistant Professor of American Studies at George Washington University.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Locating Transnational Devotion
Part I. BUILDING
1. Virgen de los Migrantes: Transposing Sacred Space in a Chicago Suburb
Part II. WALKING
2. and#147;and#161;Quand#233; risa me da!and#8221; (Oh, how it makes me laugh!)
3. Feeling History: Calambres, Ampoyas y Sed (Muscle Spasms, Blisters, and Thirst)
Part III. CONQUERING
4. Devotion in the City: Building Sacred Space on Chicagoand#8217;s Far North Side
Conclusion: Making Space Sacred
Appendix: Pilgrimage Repertoire
Notes
Bibliography
Index