San Juan de los Lagos

San Juan de los Lagos is a town and municipality located in the northeast corner of the state of Jalisco, Mexico, in a region known as Los Altos. It is best known as the home of a small image of the Virgin Mary called Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos or in Nahuatl Cihuapilli, which means “Great Lady.”

Since the first major miracle ascribed to her in 1632, she has been venerated especially for cases involving mortal danger. The miracles ascribed to her have made the basilica in which she is found a major tourist attraction, which has shaped the town’s history to this day. The economy of the town is still heavily dependent on the flow of pilgrims which has amounted to between seven and nine million people per year.