- MEXICO CITY (AP) - An ornate golden frame surrounds the rusticfabric made
of cactus fiber.
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- The cloth holds the revered image of
the Virgin Mary said tohave been created miraculously on the cloak of an
Aztec peasant in1531.
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- As with the face said to be that of Christ
on the Shroud ofTurin, testing has been unable to explain the origin of
thefull-color image on the "tilma.''
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- Scientific testing has not found any
trace of brush strokes toindicate the figure is a painting, as skeptics
claim. An infraredexamination done by U.S. researchers in 1979 showed no
underlyingpreliminary drawings or layers of protective varnish.
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- Dr. Juan Homero Hernandez, co-author
of studies on the image,says the stars on the cloak correspond to northern
and southernconstellations as they appeared on Dec. 12, 1531, the date
of theapparition. The golden outline of flowers on Mary's robe correspondto
Aztec symbols pointing out key geographic features in centralMexico.
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- A figure appearing at the foot of the
Virgin Mary may symbolizeJuan Diego, Hernandez says. The figure's wings
are similar to eaglefeathers, and Juan Diego's name before his conversion
toCatholocism was Cuauhtlatoa, meaning "eagle that speaks.''
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- Believers say the present state of the
tilma cannot be explainedsince the cactus fiber should have rotted after
20 years.Pollution, soot from candles and handling by devotees' hands earlyin
the cloak's history have not darkened the image or caused itscolors to
fade, they say.
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- In 1791, a worker cleaning the frame
spilled nitric acid acrossthe cloth, leaving behind only a watermark.
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- In 1921, an anti-religious group hid
a bomb in a flower vase atthe foot of the image. It exploded during a Mass,
damaging thealtar but leaving the frame and cloth unharmed.
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- Today, the cloth is protected by bulletproof
glass.
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