Los Angeles, Alta California
May 27, 2010
'Virgen de Guadalupe' desecration in Maywood, CA
targeted Mexican immigrants says priest
The small city of Maywood, California in Los Angeles County is again in the spotlight. In 2006 the city made national news when its all Mexican-American City Council voted unanimously to declare Maywood an "Immigrant Sanctuary."
Just three years prior to this, in 2003, the city's majority Mexican immigrant community was suffering under the boot of a racist White police chief named Bruce Leflar who would routinely set up rush-hour roadblocks on the city's two main boulevards to check every driver's paperwork. His primary targets were Mexican undocumented immigrants driving without valid licenses. Police Chief Leflar bragged to the Los Angeles Times that in one year his cops had confiscated over 1,800 vehicles and had made about $1,000,000 dollars for the city.
Tomorrow, Catholic families and Mexican-American civic leaders will gather at the city's large Santa Rosa de Lima Catholic Church to pray for the souls, and the arrest, of those who broke into their church and repeatedly stabbed, with a kitchen knife, a painting of the Virgen de Guadalupe, burned a Holy Crucifix and defecated on the floor. The police have called the incident a "heinous hate crime." Fr. David Velázquez, the pastor, does not yet know whether to repair the painting of the Virgen de Guadalupe which was left with a knife through her face and the crucifix which was broken and place upside down on top of a stove and partially burned.
Fr. David Velázquez, an immigrant from Monterrey, México believes that the attack may be related to the immigration controversy because the church itself serves as an immigrant sanctuary. Fr. Velazquez said that he has had great difficulties since Maywood was declared an immigrant sanctuary by the city in 2006. He told El Universal Newspaper that he has been shot at, had his rectory windows broken and has been repeatedly threaten. He said that the Santa Rosa de Lima Catholic Church has many enemies ever since it decided to take an active part in protecting the human rights of undocumented immigrants. Fr. David Velázquez said that he has been the victim of numerous racist and hateful campaigns. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has instructed Fr. David Velázquez to "reinforce security measures and to take extra precautions" until the nature of the attack is determined.
La Virgen de Guadalupe has been a favorite target of White anti-Mexican bigots. In 2007 the racist Minutemen of San Diego trashed a Virgen de Guadalupe Chapel that was built by Mexican migrant workers at McGonigle Canyon in north San Diego. There is a report at:
http://www.aztlan.net/minutemen_trash_guadalupe.htm
Many around the world are not familiar with La Virgen de Guadalupe. We have an
excellent narrative concerning La Reina de Mexico written by Miroslava Flores at:
http://www.aztlan.net/juandiego.htm
