A first look at El Milagro de la Guadalupana, The Experience in Compton

Culture, emotion, history and an immersive production are just some amazing features audiences can expect from El Milagro de la Guadalupana, The Experience, a sensory art event highlighting and commemorating La Virgen de Guadalupe, or Virgin of Guadalupe, one of the most respected and honored entities of Mexico's Catholic faith. 

On Tuesday, CALÒ News took a first look at the experience that premiered in the city of Compton.  

El Milagro de la Guadalupana, The Experience, consists of four rooms under a large mantle in the middle of the Crystal Casino. The rooms feature large-format projections, interactive spaces, beautiful sound and a composed musical atmosphere, all of which make attendees feel as if they are in the sacred space of the Holy Mother. 

El Milagro de la Guadalupana, The Experience, comes to L.A. just days before December 12, Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe, also considered a national holiday in Mexico. In the United States, even though it is not a holiday, many Latinos still celebrate and show their devotion on this night. 

Mariano Dominguez, one of the creators behind this experience, said the immersive show has been in the works for two and a half years. “Our purpose was to bring this experience first to the U.S., to all the Guadalupanos, Mexican people and Latinos,” he told CALÒ News. “It is an experience for everyone in the family and with this, we want to touch everyone's heart based on the person's own nostalgic degree that they might have.“ 

The first room features a small replica of the  Basílica de Santa María de Guadalupe, the church erected near the spot where four apparitions of the Virgin Mary, are said to have been received by Juan Diego in December 1531, with the command that a church be built in Mary’s honor.

Apart from the small church replica, the room also features infographics with important facts and information about the Virgin Mary’s image visible on the tilma, a painted image on the inside of Juan Diego’s cloak. 

One of the important details displayed in this room is that the stars on the Virgin Mary’s mantle are astronomically accurate to the day she appeared. On her teal cloak shimmer little stars, which were found to be the precise location of constellations in the sky the day of her first apparition on December 12th, 1531. 

One of the other projected infographics was the fact that the Virgin Mary’s image painted on Diego’s cloak has been proven not to have t been painted by humans, and after close inspection through a microscope, it has revealed that her eyes and pupils show a reflection of an old man, believed to be Juan Diego and an additional Indigenous family. 

The Mexican regional singer, Jonatan Sanchez, who topped the charts for the first time at the age of 16, was also present at the event’s blue carpet opening. As one of the youngest attendees, he talked about his faith and devotion to La Virgen de Guadalupe. 

“I'm excited to reconnect and analyze and think about everything that she has done for me and show my gratitude. I think one of the best things that I felt from La Virgen is her companionship and her guidance,” he told CALÒ News. “She has always been present in my life. She has always taken care of me and in one way or another, she has always been there.” 

One of the most artistically beautiful rooms was the second room, which featured a short animated film produced at El Taller del Chucho, the largest animation studio specializing in stop motion in the world, co-founded by noted director Guillermo del Toro and located in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico.

The short film portrays the story of La Virgen de Guadalupe and her origin story. The animated film walks viewers through the Virgin Mary’s fourth and final appearance to Juan Diego. On this day, Mary miraculously showed him where to pick roses, even though it was winter. He would then take the roses to the bishop as proof that she had appeared to him. 

The movie also shows when Juan Diego travels back to the bishop and opens his cloak to show him the roses. The roses fell to the floor, but the cloak had a picture of La Virgen de Guadalupe inside, something that since then has been considered a miracle. 

Graciela Beltrán, the regional Mexican singer who began her singing career at parties and restaurants in L.A., talked about the impact La Virgen de Guadalupe has had in her life despite not following the Catholic religion word for word. “Throughout the years, in everything that I lived in my sadness and depression and what I’ve gone through tragically in my family, of course, I have faith and a lot to be thankful for because miracles are real,” she said. “I am a woman of faith, very spiritual and despite not being rigid, step-by-step of the Catholic religion, I am a free-thinking woman and express my love for God.”

Following this premiere, the exhibition will move to San Jose, San Diego, Dallas, Houston, El Paso, McAllen, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, Chicago and Atlanta. Co-creator Dominguez also said they are excited to take the experience outside of the U.S. in the near future. 

Tickets are now available through ticketon.com.