La Conquistadora

The icon is dressed by the sacristana, or sacristan who maintains the vast wardrobe that includes clothing, veils, crowns, jewels and wigs.

The garments that the icon is clothed in are often sewn and donated by the faithful; all are rich in detail and very fine, often with elaborate designs.

For example, actress Ali MacGraw commissioned a piece that was displayed at Santa Fe's Spanish Colonial Museum in an exhibit about the icon mounted during 2010.

[10] On 26 June 1960, the image is granted a canonical coronation by Pope John XXIII, presided over by Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi, Apostolic Delegate to the country.

They refer to the common depiction of the Maesta, also known as Madonna and Child, which was a popular subject for Renaissance artists to replicate and create, from Cimabue to Leonardo da Vinci.

During Santa Fe's annual Indian Market each year, the statue is dressed with Native American attire, including a manta.

Chevalier's book on the topic reveals that church officials Fray Angelico Chavez and Pedro Ribera-Ortega were extremely instrumental in using modern techniques to date the wood used to make the statue.

Further, Chevalier's book proves that the statue was made of two entirely different types of wood, making her provenance both mysterious and historically ambiguous.

Renamed La Conquistadora, she was brought back from El Paso del Norte by de Vargas as he mounted a reconquest of New Mexico from the Pueblo peoples of the area.

Once the novena masses are concluded, the statue is brought back and Fiesta de Santa Fe festivities begin.

The highlight of the Fiesta de Santa Fe is the burning of “Zozobra," also known as "Old Man Gloom"—an imposing 50 foot tall puppet that represents the problems and hardships of the previous year.