Basilica of Guadalupe, Tlatelolco & the Spiritual Heart of Mexico

The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe (north of Mexico City's historic centre, on the Cerro del Tepeyac) is the most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the world, receiving approximately 20 million pilgrims annually — more than Vatican City or Lourdes; the Virgin of Guadalupe (the apparition of the Virgin Mary reported to indigenous Mexican Juan Diego in December 1531, ten years after the Spanish Conquest) is the central symbol of Mexican national identity, transcending the religious to become the most powerful cultural symbol of Mexico.