Costa Rica's Virgin is called "La Negrita" because she is this tiny little black stone carved with Mary holding baby Jesus. She resides in the Basilica in Cartago (about 15 miles from San Jose - the capital - so she's basically in the center of CR). Here is her story:
A peasant girl named Juana (all the stories are similar, so bear with me) found the stone in the woods on August 2, 1635. She took in home, thinking it was a beautiful little doll. The next morning, it was gone; but she found it in the woods in the same place as the day before when gathering wood. She took it home again and locked it up. Next morning, same thing happened. It was then that she realized this must really be Mary, so she took it to the priest. He didn't pay much attention to the peasant girl, so he put it in a box to deal with later. The next day, the box was empty. This happened a few more times, and finally, he decided that Mary must want to stay in the woods. So, they built a church for her there and put the humble little rock in a giant (gaudy - sorry I prefered the rock by itself. It's beautiful in it's simplicity), gold, typical Catholic starburst angelic thing (you know what I mean, but I'm not sure how to describe it....not to worry, I have pics!).
And every year, thousands of CRs come from all over to visit La Negrita and ask for miracles. And by come, I mean walk, ride horses, ride bikes, take buses, etc. But MANY MANY MANY of them WALK. When they get to the church, many of them go in on their knees. This is a pilgrimage. It's all about sacrifice. It's about giving up your comfort as a sign of respect for the Virgin, especially if you are asking for something. Many people come for cures for themselves or their family members. Some just come to witness a miracle - because they believe the rock itself is a miracle, a manifestation of the mother of God who looks out for her people.
Even companies get in on the action, supporting the Virgin while advertising their various wares. This one is for ice tea and it says, "God blesses my way/path/journey (depending on your interpretation). The Virgin waits for us." We saw signs like this and others all along our walk.O yes, our walk... I didn't tell you about that... I said that many people walk to Cartago, but I didn't mention that I walked to Cartago. With my host mom, Mayra. From Tres Rios (3 Rivers), which was 12 km (about 7 miles, I think). Mayra isn't in the best of shape, tho. She has trouble with her hips and her knee (she actually had surgery on it) and her feet (she's supposed to have surgery on them, but she won't because she doesn't want to be laid up for the post-op recovery). But she didn't let any of that stop her. She kept saying it was important to sacrifice for the Virgin. She took her cane with her (I've never seen her use it before), and she refused to use it until after we arrived in Cartago. She wouldn't stop to rest either. She's one tough cookie. (Stubborn, too). But it took us close to 4 hours to reach Cartago. We did take a few brief stops to get beverages, to snack, use the facilities, so she could buy socks cuz her feet hurt. Here's a story in itself. So, she wears a habit, right? We had to go yesterday instead of today, which is the "official day" because yesterday was her last day to wear the habit and it was very important to her that she visit the Virgin while wearing the habit. Except, she refused to wear sneakers with her habit - for fashion? I really don't know her reasoning. But she walked yesterday in loafers that she's worn nonstop for the last 30 days... Needless to say, she was a bit uncomfortable.
But I should explain from the beginning. A few weeks ago, we had an assignment in class to learn about the Virgin. For homework, we had to talk to our host families. Well, being that Mayra is extremely religious, this was abt a 20 min talk....And every day since then, we discuss some aspect of the Virgin. She stole a poster from the Church for me (no worries, she went to Confession. Too funny!), bought me a little figure of La Negrita, saved newspaper articles for me. My one day assignment has turned into a source for bonding with Mayra :)
I asked if she would be willing to take me to Cartago. I told her I really didn't care when we went, as long as I got to see it all. She decided that I should go with her on the "big day," and so our journey began. I should mention that even tho yesterday wasn't the official day, there were still a ton of people because it was Sunday. So, we were 2 of at least 2,000 pilgrims yesterday. Can you even imagine? I can't grasp it. Too amazing!
This is a GIANT replica of the Virgin in the back of a truck, stationed along the way. I say GIANT because wait until you see the real Virgin. She's beautiful, tho, isn't she?I'm assuming this replica was here for encouragement. A sort of "hey, this is your goal. This is why you're suffering right now. Keep going, she's waiting for you." I must say, all the signs and little tents with free drinks and the energy from the other pilgrims - it was all very moving. I can see how people could draw strength and reassurance from such a day.
Here I am, walking to Cartago. And yes, I do look ridiculous, but I refused to get burnt!
Mayra :)
I'm not sure if you can read the sign, but it says "Cartago 10 km" because we had walked a bit before I saw a sign that had the distance on it.
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