The Annual Romeria Is
Underway
With a week to go, the
annual "romeria"
(pilgrimage) to Cartago
is underway as hundreds
have already begun the
walk on foot to the
Basilica de Los Angeles
in the old Metropolis,
to make the last hundred
feet on their knees to
ask "La Negrita" a
favour or give thanks.
Some "romeros" walk as
much as 300 kilometres
on foot to get to the
Basilica, some coming
from other countries for
their annual visit.
This year some 2 million
romeros are expected to
visit Cartago between
August 1 and 2.
Local municipal
authorities, working
with the ministerio de
Seguridad Pública and
the Policía de Tránsito,
have announced strict
security measures along
the route, including
prohibiting all types of
sales from the area of
Tres Rios to the
Basilica.
In Cartago, traffic will
be detoured away from
the Basilica, in an
attempt to lessen
congestion in the city
and give preference to
public transportation.
Some 1.300 Fuerza
Pública (police) and 180
Tránsitos (traffic
police) will be on hand
to ensure safety.
The story of the romeria
is based on La Negrita,
a small black statue
that made the miracolous
appearance on August 2,
1635, found by a little
girl who took it home.
On finding it the mother
told her it was wrong
and told her to put it
back where she had found
it. The little girl went
to look for it where she
had put it and found
that it was gone. They
went back where she had
found it the next day,
and there it was! They
took the statue to show
it to a priest, however
it disappeared again,
and again it made its
way where they had found
it.
A shrine was soon built
on the rock by the
stream where the statue
had originally appeared,
and a church was built
on this very spot. It
was destroyed in an
earthquake in 1920, and
a new church was
re-built six years
later. The Basilica is
of Byzantine
architecture and is
unique in Costa Rica.
The walls of the shrine
are covered with little
gifts from the pilgrims
who have been cured,
sometimes in the form of
the body part itself;
hundreds of little gold
figurines, in the form
of a leg, an arm, a
heart, are shinning all
around the little black
virgin. This practice
and a similar story can
be found in many other
Latin countries, and it
seems it is a mixture of
Catholic and local non-christian
religions.
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