Source: Public Broadcasting Service

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week316/profile.html

On December 5, 2003 Public Broadcasting Service reported on the history of devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe by Latinos in America. The article comments that "in a country where devotion conjures images of prayer indoors, at home, or at church, Latino Catholics in ever-increasing numbers celebrate the feast day of the Virgin of Guadalupe in massive public demonstrations of adoration. While impressive, the observances that take place in California and the American Southwest on this day pale in comparison to the huge celebration in Mexico City, which can draw as many as five million worshippers. The celebration is rooted in a Mexican story nearly 5,000 years old. According to tradition, the olive-skinned virgin appeared before the Aztec Indian Juan Diego in 1531... The numbers of virgin devotees have increased sharply in recent years with the massive influx of immigrants from Mexico and Central America. In Los Angeles alone, the day before the feast day, some 50,000 people came to the old Olympic Coliseum to worship the lady who they call the Empress of the Americas."