Pilgrimage to Cartago Draws Half the Country
Casa Presidencial Photo
Costa Rican president Laura Chinchilla was among the faithful in the Annual Pilgrimage to Cartago. The event drew an estimated 2 million people, roughly half the country, and has been a national tradition on since 1781.
President Chinchilla arrived at the basilica in Cartago late in the afternoon, knelt before the alter of the Virgen of Los Angeles and made a celestial petition to Reduce the Violence in Costa Rica along with a wish for the recovery of her elderly husband who broke his hip last month.
The pilgrimage or romería has its roots in the story of the Virgin of Los Angeles where a small black stone was removed from a natural spring in Cartago only to return magically to the same position. According to legend the stone or “La Negrita” represents the virgin, and Roman Catholic pilgrims pray to the icon in the hope that a wish will be granted in return for a personal sacrifice.
While the holiday enjoys widespread recognition on August the 2nd is not officially classified by the Costa Rican Ministry of Labor as a Paid Holiday. Meaning anyone taking the day off from work to go to Cartago can not expect to get paid unless their employer does so voluntarily.
Casa Presidencial Photo
The movement of half the country’s population to one location creates a huge economic opportunity, especially for those in Informal Economy providing transport and concessions along the route. Vehicles are prohibited from approaching within 200 meters of the church and the municipality of Cartago had prohibited street vendors this year.
These prohibitions did not extend to the region of Tres Rios, which is on the route between San Jose and Cartago. The majority of 13 arrests over the weekend were also made in this area.
Residents of La Union and Curridabat complained of an increase in the amount of litter left along the route, which seems to increase every year. One of the videos in the playlist below illustrates the problem, and an examination of the detritus suggests that companies along the route giving out free samples along with informal vendors did not adequately deal with the problem of clean up.
As of Monday evening 32,000 people registered for the Virtual Pilgrimage, which was started last year when the H1N1 virus caused the cancellation of the event. While virtual is a nice alternative for Costa Ricans outside the country the appeal seems to be waning given that almost 300,000 registered last year.
Note: Above video is a playlist of selected videos. Use the tape icon to advance or wait for each video to complete.
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Filed Under: Local News
