11 DECEMBER 2019 - DES MOINES, IOWA: Men carry the statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe during the Virgin of Guadalupe celebration at Our Lady of the Americas Catholic Church in Des Moines. Virgin of Guadalupe Day is one of the most important holy days in Mexican Catholicism. It marks Dec. 12, 1531, the day Juan Diego, an indigenous Mexican peasant, saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary on a barren hillside in what is now Mexico City. A basilica was built on the site. Virgin of Guadalupe Day is celebrated throughout Mexico and in Mexican communities in the United States. PHOTO BY JACK KURTZ