A troubled family in Spain, an American archaeologist and others are drawn to Mexico by the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe. These 20th century 'pilgrims' are drawn together and helped in much the same way the Virgin of Guadalupe drew the Spanish and the Mexica together in the 16th century to form a new race, the Mexicans, A gentle dramatization of St. Juan Diego's vision of the Virgin Mary on Tepayac Hill in 1531 is interwoven with the modern action and is appropriately spoken in Nahuatl.
For those who are not familiar with this encounter, Juan Diego saw the Virgin on a hill north of Tenochtitlan (now Mexico City) then sacred to the Nahuatl-speaking population. The Virgin told him to ask the Bishop (Zumarraga, with an impressively aquiline nose) for a shrine to be built on that site. The bishop was not impressed at the first or second request, and finally asked Juan Diego to bring a sign. At the third meeting, the Virgin told Juan Diego to return the following day and gather flowers. Unfortunately, his uncle was dying that day and Juan Diego went for help. He took another route in order to avoid the Virgin, but was intercepted by her.
The Virgin then said his uncle was cured, and that he should gather flowers -- on cold, rocky Tepeyac in December. He did so, carried them in his blanket to Bishop Zumarraga and, when he opened the cloth, on it was the picture of the Virgin which today may be seen in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico city, visited by 15 million people each year.
