Material Culture in the Borderland : A Focus on the "Miracle Room" at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle

Abstract

Material culture in the lower Rio Grande Valley exists among the faithful devotees that attend Our Lady of San Juan del Valle who put their faith in a variety of religious objects to feel secure from the many social, economic and political problems including the violence that is a result of the drug war that Mexico has been currently facing in the last couple of years. The author focuses on "el cuarto de los Milagros" (the miracle room) and the material culture found in the room at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in San Juan, Texas to define the culture of the community surrounding the Basilica. For six weeks and approximately five hours per week during the summer of 2012, she observed and interviewed the residents of the parish where she grew up.