Temporary tattoos of the Virgin of Guadalupe. According to Mexican tradition, on December 9, 1531, the Virgin Mary appeared "radiant as the sun" to Juan Diego on the hill of Tepeyac outside of Mexico City. The gentle Virgin announced to the poor farmer that it was her wish that a church be built on the site. Three days later she appeared again and instructed him to fill his cape with flowers and carry them to the Bishop Zumarraga in Mexico City. When Juan Diego opened his mantle for the Bishop, it was brimming over with Castilian roses. Beneath the roses a divine image of the Virgin was etched into the cloth. Nearly three centuries later, when the Mexicans fought for Independence from Spain, they marched behind!3
