Along the roads of Argentina it is not uncommon to find collections of water bottles or spare parts – or even rusted car frames. These are not garbage heaps but offerings to one of Argentina’s most prominent folk saints: Difunta Correa.
The History of Folk Saint Difunta Correa
Difunta means "deceased" and Correa is the name of a woman. Legend has it that María Antonia Deolina Correa followed her conscripted husband in the civil war of the 1850s. Her journey led through the deserts of San Juan, where she died of thirst and exhaustion. Local villagers found her body on a hill but miraculously her baby son was suckling her breast and living on his mother's milk. A miracle had taken place. A tomb, constructed on this hill, soon turned into a place of miracles and subsequently grew into a pilgrimage shrine.
While Correa’s name has often been brought to the attention of the pope, with the request to declare her a saint, the Catholic Church doesn't acknowledge her as such. Nevertheless in Argentina, a country where Catholicism easily blends with indigenous traditions and local beliefs, Difunta Correa is revered as a saint.
Road Shrines of Difunta Correa in Argentina
Along the Argentinean roads, shrines dedicated to Difunta Correa are common. Bottles of water, stacked neatly in long lines or simply dumped on a heap, are the main form of offering. Correa seems to hold a special place for the traveler: license plates, spare parts, blown tires and even rusted car frames are all possible offerings at these road shrines.
The Principal Shrine of Difunta Correa in Vallecito
This Difunta Correa shrine is found in Vallecito, about 60 kilometres east of San Juan in west Argentina. It has grown into one of Argentina's major places of pilgrimage where every year thousands of pilgrims come to express their devotion, and where festivals in honor of Difunta Correa are hold on a regular basis. The locality is a typical mixture of the sacred and the profane: the shrine is surrounded by an abundance of eateries, souvenir stands and places to spend the night.
A visit to this place of pilgrimage is nothing less than astounding. At the top of the hill a room contains two statues of Difunta Correa and her baby, where people pray and ask for favors. Outside, candles are burned and empty bottles offered in a large cage. The hill is covered with scale models of houses, just as these are to be found in one of the chapels at the foot of the hills.
More than ten other chapels are reserved for wedding dresses, fireman’s helmets, scale models of vehicles, sports trophies, IV drips, plaster casts, etc. Walls are covered in commemorating plaques. Most amazing is the room where the valuable offerings are kept, locked away, and where anything can be found from two vintage cars to mountain bikes and from Leika photo cameras to gold jewelry.
Other Religious Places in South America
- The folk saint Gaucho Gil in Argentina is just as popular as Difunta Correa.
- Across the border with Chile the Virgin of Andacollo is honored.
- Visit Bolivia to attend the celebration of Fiesta de las Alasitas in La Paz.
Karin-Marijke Vis - Karin-Marijke Vis is a bilingual writer (Dutch-English) who has been traveling in Asia and South America since 2003.
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