At the beginning of the famous encounter between St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe, as Diego ascends Tepeyac Hill, he is suddenly surrounded by beautiful music and wondrous sights, whereupon he asks himself, "Where am I? Could this be the place that our ancestors spoke of -- the Flower World Paradise in the land of heaven?"
With these words, St. Juan Diego ties his encounter to an ancient indigenous belief system -- a spiritual floral domain named "Flower World." This startling history was recently uncovered by anthropologists and archaeologists. In referencing this flowery paradise, Juan Diego opens up a fascinating link dating back to the very cradle of American civilization.
Flower World permeated Pan-Mesoamerican culture from its inception, accentuating ancient American man's yearning for a paradisiacal afterlife saturated with music and beauty. This is expressively reflected in flower song poems of the era, whose primary metaphor is that of a singer calling down flowers from heaven to gather in his tilma so he might share them with lords and princes.
This exciting new interpretation of American prehistory lays the groundwork for a prophetical reinterpretation of the Guadalupe narrative. Joseph and Monique Gonzalez shed new light on the astounding events of Our Lady's appearance at Tepeyac in December 1531. They present a fresh explanation of the roughly ten million indigenous conversions that occurred after the Blessed Mother's appearance -- considered the single largest Christian conversion event in history.
Painstakingly tracing the latest archaeological interpretations of Flower World along with the philosophical ramifications behind the flower songs, the Gonzalezes make a compelling case for the Guadalupe apparition's being the culmination of thousands of years of evangelical preparation of the people of the Americas. In these enthralling pages, you will discover:
- Whether the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe was a fabrication to convert the indigenous
- That the miraculous tilma is part of a larger network of miraculous artistic expressions and ideas
- The five ways Our Lady of Guadalupe attaches herself to ancient traditions
- That the indigenous peoples had limited exposure to the tilma
- The four-petaled flower symbol that connects earth and heaven
- An ancient and mysterious poem that mirrors the Guadalupe narrative
- The four pillars of "the bridge of understanding" that paved the way for the Gospels
- That the gathered flowers in Juan Diego's tilma symbolize Jesus as the Path to eternal life
This hero's journey through the centuries is a love letter to the modern world that unveils in a stunning way the reality of God's salvific plan for the Americas, then and now.
Joseph Julián González is a composer for award-winning films, TV shows, stage productions, and concerts. His music has been performed at Carnegie Hall, the Sydney Opera House, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Vatican, and other prestigious venues. This thirty-year Hollywood veteran's composing credits include the Academy Award-nominated feature documentary Colors Straight Up, the Emmy Award-winning Made in LA, and the Peabody Award-winning six-part miniseries Latino Americans. González conducted the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra for his score for the Imagen Award-winning PBS landmark documentary Children of Giant. He also co-composed the score to Quentin Tarantino's Curdled with rock 'n' roll legend Slash from Guns N' Roses.
Monique González has studied classical voice with various notable vocal instructors, including Alfred Binod. She has been a professional cantor at several prominent churches in Los Angeles, New York City, and Ann Arbor, Michigan. Monique has worked in marketing and promotions for various Catholic apostolates, including YOU! Magazine, Legatus, Defenders of the Catholic Faith, and Ave Maria Radio. She has racked up a sizable credit list as music editor and score production coordinator for several movies and feature documentaries. She has produced internationally recorded full-orchestral scores, including the award-winning PBS documentary Children of Giant, and was a singer on the Peabody Award-winning miniseries Latino Americans. She authored the libretto for the three-act opera Sueños de Béjar (Dreams of Béjar).
