Abstract

GONZALEZ PEREZ, Damián. The cult and festivities of San Luis Rey in the El Ajusco neighborhood: a testimony of popular religiosity in Mexico City. Relac. Estud. hist. soc. [online]. 2014, vol.35, n.139, pp.233-254. ISSN 2448-7554.

The objective of this study is to present the results of a series of interviews with the woman entrusted with organizing the San Luis Rey festivities in the El Ajusco neighborhood of Mexico City. This approach allowed the author to observe the origins of the cult to that image and explore differences with the original celebration held in the town of Nahuatzen, state of Michoacán. But, above all, it reveals the relation between this Saint and the people who participate in the cult through the fiesta, the promises made to the image, and the favors and miracles asked of it. One important aspect of the analysis is that it examines the topic of the status of a popular devotion through testimonies of a specific social actor in a popular urban setting. Her name is Mrs. Juana Maldonado Zúñiga, daughter of the founder of the celebration, who is now responsible for organizing the San Luis Rey fiesta in El Ajusco.

Keywords : popular religiosity; popular devotion; San Luis Rey; El Ajusco neighborhood.