Dawn at Tepeyac recounts the crucial moments of stagnation and despair immediately following the Spanish conquest of Mexico, a catastrophe barely averted by the apparitions of the Virgin of Guadalupe on a mountain above the lake cities in December of 1531 and how a continuum was re-established to allow the indigenous people to survive. Through the eyes and minds of the Chichimec saint Juan Diego and the first Bishop of Mexico, Fray Juan de Zumarraga, the reader enters into the tumultuous and almost hopeless situation of the conquered and the conquerors alike with a personal glimpse into the good will and humanity that existed even within the brutal and violent confrontations of radically opposed cultures. A mix of historical fact, creative interpretation and imaginative description and dialogue, this artistically crafted novel re-creates the feelings and thoughts of the inhabitants of 16th century Mexico, as well as considerations of philosophical and theological concepts in context, and may be the only work on the subject which combines literary concerns, historical facts, and an intellectually acceptable understanding of the apparitions, correlating the seemingly antagonistic critiques."