How does the religious iconography and mythology of central Poland inform the revolutionary mythologies and symbols of Chicana/o power movements? Few scholarly works would venture into such unlikely comparisons, what with the deacons of traditional academic disciplines continuing to preach bounded and thus limited studies—based on circumspect short historical periods, data sets, interviews, and so on. But true interdisciplinary endeavors eschew rigid doctrines, traveling less chosen paths in search of fresh discoveries. Malgorzata Oleszkiewicz-Peralba's The Black Madonna in Latin America and Europe, is a triumph of such interdisciplinarity for its unorthodox associations and epic geographic and historical scope.

The Black Madonna is a beautifully illustrated cross between an artsy coffee table book and a powerful academic treatise. Delineated by four discrete case studies, the chapters span East-Central Europe, Mexican Guadalupanismo, Brazil and the Caribbean, and the Chicana/o mapping of the U.S. southwest signified by the mythology of Aztlan. The research and methodology are impressive. In her own words, the “research is based on my own fieldwork and on in-site data gathering such as participant observation and note-taking, interviews, and photographic and video documentation” (3). I would describe the methodology as “genealogical” and “comparative” studies in religion and art.

After a brief introduction to the project, Oleszkiewicz-Peralba begins each essay from the earliest instantiation of the maternal representation in question, intimately telling and illustrating the morphing process into the resulting avatars. From Europe she begins in the Neolithic era focusing the “persistence and ‘recycling’ of concepts over vast stretches of time … exemplified by the Finno-Slavic goddess Mokosh, who reappears in the figure of the Mother Moist Earth, which in turn reappears as Mary, the Mother of God” (19). This is perhaps the richest chapter for its meticulous consideration of symbols, myths, avatars, and controversies surrounding the transformation of feminine earth deities into the Polish Black Madonna, Our Lady of Czestochowa Queen of Peace and Mercy. With great precision she traces the connections, careful not to proclaim an absolute obliteration of the originals and a precise substitution. Instead, she argues “the previous effigies been reassimilated and adapted to the new ones. Although specific attributes may be discarded, there is a tendency toward retention of ancient archetypical figures in the collective subconscious and their reemergence in a disguised form” (19).

Yet, the work might have been strengthened by a more forceful statement of a genealogical connection among the mother figures—particularly inasmuch as the Christian versions of this archetype have suffered under patriarchy. Indeed, she makes a powerful case for the status reversal of the primal divine feminine, giver of life and thus head of creation who under the Christian Church is demoted to a lesser, supporting role in the formation and salvation narratives. Conversely, earliest representations of the mother deity were celebrated for the awesome power of giving birth. The Great Mother/Black Madonna was black originally, for she is cast as Sophia or wisdom, which existed prior to the light of creation (23). Oleszkiewicz-Peralba's coverage includes discussions of the deployments of the contemporary mother deity, from Polish solidarity struggles, to Mexican and Chicana/o civil rights, artistic, and religious battles.

The second and subsequent chapters cover well-tread territory; in Mexico she reviews the relationships between the pre-Colombian mother goddesses into contemporary venerations of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The third meticulously unpacks the dense forest of symbols that provide the architecture for Afro-Latin Catholic traditions of Brazil and the Caribbean, including Santeria, Candomble, and Vodou. The final substantive essay looks at the mother image in Chicana/o myth, art, and political praxis. The conclusion provides a helpful synthesis, reiterating connections among the icons that she makes in each chapter.

The strength of chapters 2 through 4 is the comparisons and the arrangement of the materials. That is, much of the information she presents is available in secondary texts. Her contribution is to collect the information and highlight thesis ideas, while interpreting the materials using a distinct critical religion and art lexicon. In the chapter on Mexico, she presents not only the indigenous feminine deities, but also the European predecessors of Guadalupe including Moorish relatives. Central to this metamorphosis is the theological and political debate surrounding the nomenclature of mother images. In some contexts, Mary is best recognized as the Holy Virgin, while in others she remains true to her roots as “Our Mother.”

Chapter 3 on the Afro-Indo-European “syncretism” considers the beginnings of motherly worship from three continents in light of Brazil's Our Lady Aparecida, and Cuba's Caridad de Cobre—particularly insofar as these traditions shape and are informed by African origin praise systems. Brazilian women especially enjoy leadership status in the religions originating in the African diaspora—a status she attributes to a religious emphasis: the border between religions of salvation and religions of survival wherein the latter is more conducive to female empowerment in the contemporary world. The final substantive chapter is perhaps the most superficial, covering some stale terrain in Chicana/o art, politics, and religion that will nonetheless be new and important for readers in religious studies and theology—fields that ignore Chicanas and Chicanos altogether. The contribution here is her positioning Chicana/o cultural production within a global context, focusing the representations of the mother deity. Her analysis yields valuable fresh insight, bringing into sharp relief possible origins of the Chicana feminine triad into contemporary art and poetry.

The strength of the work is the tremendous breadth of materials covered and arranged while, for the most part, maintaining a deep and circumspect comparative analysis. The book is also sophisticated theoretically, effectively utilizing pivotal concepts in many fields. However, some of these terms are left under-problematized, such as the easy distinction between sacred and secular, and the discussion and utilization of syncretism, particularly in Cuban Santeria. Some scholars reject the term “syncretism” altogether, preferring instead the concept of “dissimulation”; yet she delineates the question of the continued viability of Catholicity within Santeria. This presentation of the argument is more than sufficient for making the points crucial for her larger point.

The Black Madonna is a delightful work and a necessary read for those interested not only in art and the icon of the Great Mother but also in Christianity itself. I recommend it most highly.