Virgen de Guadalupe

Album: Downtown Church (2010)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song is from American singer-songwriter Patty Griffin's sixth studio album, Downtown Church, which consists of a selection of traditional religious songs, gospel numbers and original tunes by Griffin. She has stated that the album was an attempted to familiarize pop fans with gospel music.
  • Griffin sings this song entirely in Spanish. It is a traditional tune that dates back to the Aztecs of Mexico.

    Griffin has incorporated Hispanic songs in her catalogue for a long time, and this track is a Hispanic hymn: the Virgen de Guadalupe is a celebrated Roman Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary. She explained to Christianity Today: "It's from living in Texas for the past 13 years. It's certainly not a part of my upbringing; I mean, I grew up in Maine—not exactly a hotbed of Hispanic culture. Michael Ramos, who has produced me and played in my band for a long time, gets the credit for the Hispanic influence in my music. He introduced 'Virgen de Guadalupe' to me. It's such a lovely, tender hymn."
  • Downtown Church won a Dove Award for Inspirational Album Of The Year at the 42nd GMA Dove Awards. It also won the Grammy for Best Traditional Gospel Album.
  • The Latin/Country singer Raul Malo duets on this song with Griffin.

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