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October 24, 2001
Hispanic wedding customs make manifest the new life shared
Traditions enrich ceremonies, are affordable to all, advocates say
By Agostino Bono
Before Alejandro Aguilera-Titus got married in Woodburn, Ore., he went to his native Mexico to buy 13 special golden coins for the ceremony. The coins, called ``arras,'' are a Mexican symbol of providing sustenance for the new household.
The arras are among many marriage symbols used in the United States by people of Mexican descent to retain their traditions and rites. Couples also are adapting them to new socio-cultural realities.
In traditional wedding ceremonies, the arras are given by the groom to the bride after the exchange of rings as a symbol that the man is the economic provider. It is accompanied by a promise to economically maintain the household.
But in the Aguilera-Titus wedding in 1985, this was modified to symbolize co-responsibility. ``We held together the coffer with the coins as we read the promise,'' said Aguilera-Titus. ``We kept the symbol, but the roles of men and women are not as clear cut anymore.''
The significance of the arras is that it highlights the importance of good stewardship in the household, said Salvatorian Father Raul Gomez, director of Hispanic studies at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wis.
``Traditionally, the husband provides the coins and the wife promises to use them wisely,'' he said.
Another popular tradition is the ``lazo,'' a double-looped rope or string of beads or garland. It is placed over the bride and groom as a symbol of the binding element of a marriage.
The placing of the lazo is usually done after the exchange of vows or after the nuptial blessing, said Father Gomez.
The beaded lazo usually has a cross in between the loops, making it look like a rosary.
A similar custom in Cuba and Puerto Rico consists of putting a large shawl, called a mantilla, over the shoulders of the couple to symbolize their union.
Another custom, near the end of the ceremony, is the veiling of the bride in which a large veil, called a ``velo,'' is placed completely over the bride and over the shoulders of the groom.
Just before the veiling, the bride's family gives her hand to the celebrant. After a prayer is read, the celebrant hands over the bride to the groom by placing her hand in his.
``This tradition symbolizes the home the couple is to establish with the bride as the center,'' said Father Gomez, a Mexican-American born in Arizona.
Father Gomez noted that many of these items are not expensive, making them accessible to low-income families.
``The arras can be pennies or dimes coated in silver or gold,'' he said.
Another ceremony is the giving of the book and rosary to the couple. This normally takes place at the Prayer of the Faithful and symbolizes the prayer required for a holy marriage. Traditionally, the book is a missal, but now couples are encouraged to use a Bible.
A tradition common to many Latin American countries is offering a bouquet of flowers to the Virgin Mary asking for her blessing of the marriage. For Hispanics of Mexican descent, it is offered to Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of Mexico and the Americas.
Aguilera-Titus said he also brought from Mexico a copy of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe for his wedding.
The image had special meaning because ``it is a symbol of `mestizaje,' the birth of a new people,'' he said.
``Our marriage would engender mestizo children,'' he said. Aguilera-Titus' wife, Mary, is Irish-American, and they have three children.
Mexican-born Father Heliodoro Lucatero noted that the arras and the lazo are part of the official marriage rite in Mexico.
Father Lucatero, a member of the U.S. bishops' subcommittee on liturgy for Hispanics, said it is permissible to incorporate these in U.S. weddings. He added that a rite officially incorporating these customs in U.S. weddings has been prepared and was awaiting Vatican approval.
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