Miracles, a
Question of Faith
Hundreds
of thousands visited Cartago in the last two
days, as the devout and faithful walked from
miles, some from as far away as Puntarenas to show their devotion and faith to
the Virgen de Los Angeles, "La Negrita".
Once
arrived at the Basilica, the last few
steps were taken on their knees, with
prayer and hope in their hearts.
Some came to offer their devotion, while
others asking for a miracle. To the
faithful, it is just a matter of
believing.
One of the many examples that can be
attributed to the work of La Negrita is
that of an unmarried mother who says La
Negrita brought her sick baby back to
health some 30 years ago. |
Romeros
take their last steps on
the their knees inside the Basilica
in Cartago. Click
here to enlarge foto
|
It was 1974, when
María Antonieta Flores who was only 21 at the
time had a four month old baby sick of a viral
infection that was close to death.
She had taken the baby to the Max Piralta
hospital some 15 Kilometers away from Cartago,
where doctors had told the young mother that
there was no hope.
In an act of desperation and devotion, the woman
took the baby's clothing to the Basilica for
blessing and to ask La Negrita to save her
baby.
On her return to the hospital, she was told that
the baby had shown improvement and would
survive.
Today, she makes the annual walk barefoot to
give thanks for her child who is now 30 years
old.
She asks everyone that they do not lose their
faith.
Triple Murder
Suspect's Body Found
The body of the man wanted by police for the
murder of three minors in Puerto Jimenez was
found with a bullet in the left temple, on the
beach Rincón de Osa.
Carlos
Corrales Picado, 40, this past Wednesday
used a .38 caliber revolver to murder three
children in the small southern town, Kevin Solís
who was only 4 years old and Francisco Mena y a
Steven Vargas, both 15.
An intense operation unfolded, as police asked
for the public's help in locating the man.
The lifeless body was discovered by police
officials during their sweep of the area.
Nicaraguan Opposition
Leader Says He Will Charge Nicaraguan President
Before Human Rights Court
An
opposition senator said Saturday he will file a
petition with an international tribunal charging
President Enrique Bolaños with crimes against
humanity for failing to keep promises his
government made to thousands of impoverished
coffee growers.
Nelson Artola,
head of the legislature's human rights
commission, said that he would file a criminal
complaint against Bolaños with the Costa Rica
based Interamerican Court of Human Rights next
week.
Artola said he
also would give the complaint to Sergio
Caramagna, an envoy from the Washington based
Organization of American States who is scheduled
to visit the Nicaraguan capital of Managua next
week.
Artola said that
this week, more than 5,000 coffee growers from
the rural province of Matagalpa began a 60-mile
(95-kilometer) march to the capital to protest
the Bolaños' government's lack of aid for the
country's coffee-growing regions.
Drought and
plummeting coffee prices have left thousands of
farmers without means of subsistence, and
marches to the capital to demand more government
aid have been common in this country for nearly
two years.
Artola said
Bolaños signed a series of agreements in
September pledging to provide struggling farmers
with land and low-interest loans to buy farming
equipment and supplies. He said Bolaños'
government has failed to provide any of the aid
it promised last year, thus violating the human
rights of thousands of coffee growers.
"The farmers
only want what has been promised to them,"
he said.
While
inaugurating Nicaragua's independence
celebrations Friday, Bolaños called the march
politically motivated. But his vice president,
Jose Rizo, acknowledged that "those farmers
deserve attention."
A presidential
spokesman refused to comment Saturday on the
complaint Artola said he will file.
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