Amara Solari’s Idolizing Mary: Maya-Catholic Icons in Yucatán, Mexico examines the role of Marian devotion in colonial Yucatán, focusing on the Virgin of Itzmal. The book explores how Maya communities integrated Catholic iconography into their existing religious traditions, aligning with precontact notions of sacrality, ritual purity, and divine intercession.

The study centers on the 1648 yellow fever epidemic, during which the Virgin of Itzmal was carried in procession as part of efforts to seek divine intervention. Solari analyzes how indigenous devotional practices influenced the reception and veneration of the Virgin. By drawing from prints, paintings, and early modern writings, she demonstrates that the icon became a significant religious figure within Maya communities.

Solari employs an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating art history, ethnohistory, and religious studies. She utilizes native-language sources alongside Spanish colonial records to reconstruct indigenous perspectives on Marian imagery. The book examines camarín artwork, court cases, and Maya historical documents to provide a comprehensive analysis of the indigenous reception of Catholic iconography.

John F. Schwaller highlights in his review that the study presents the Virgin of Itzmal as a new deity formed within the colonial religious landscape, rather than a direct adaptation of a pre-Columbian goddess. Barbara E. Mundy emphasizes Solari’s discussion of Mary’s role in absorbing afflictions, paralleling Maya understandings of divine images.

By situating Marian imagery within a Maya framework, Idolizing Mary contributes to scholarship on religious transformation in colonial Latin America. The book presents evidence of how indigenous communities engaged with and redefined Catholic visual and spiritual elements. Through detailed research and analysis, Solari provides a historical account of the interplay between indigenous and European religious practices.