No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsArts and CultureIn Costa Rica Thousands walk to Cartago to visit 'La Negrita'

In Costa Rica Thousands walk to Cartago to visit ‘La Negrita’

Every year, an estimated two million people from across Central America leave their homes and walk to the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles in Cartago, east of the capital, to pay their respects to Costa Rica’s patron saint, known locally as “La Negrita.”

The tradition is based on the 17th century legend of La Negrita, in which an indigenous woman discovered a small statue in the forest of a dark-skinned woman carrying a baby in her arms. The woman took the statue to her home, but something unusual happened: the next day, the statue was gone.

The indigenous woman again found the statue in the middle of the woods, in the same spot as before. She again took it home, and by the next day, it had vanished again, only to reappear in the same spot in the woods. The woman decided to tell the town’s priest, and after witnessing the phenomenon, he declared it a message from the Virgin Mary. The priest said villagers should build a church on the spot where the statue appeared.

Four centuries later, the Basilica in Cartago is said to sit on that spot. “La Romería de la Virgen de los Ángeles,” the annual pilgrimage to Cartago, continues to attract faithful Catholics who come to see the statue of “La Negrita” and ask for blessings, favors or forgiveness.

Popular Articles

Costa Rican Linked to Cartel Faces U.S. Money Laundering Charges

Elías Alberto Quirós Benavides, a 53-year-old resident of Grecia, Costa Rica, faces serious allegations from the United States for his alleged role in the...

Chaves’ Complaint Sparks Debate on Press Freedom in Costa Rica Media Clash

Costa Rica President Rodrigo Chaves filed a criminal complaint against two Teletica journalists, Álvaro Sánchez Córdoba and Christian Montero Ulate, for publishing his personal...

Brazilian Photographer Sebastião Salgado Dies at 81

Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado, known for his powerful black-and-white images of the Amazon and global conflicts, died on Friday at the age of 81,...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait

Latest Articles