Faces of Costa Rica

As August 2 draws closer each year, pilgrims are frequently sighted along the Pan American highway and other Costa Rican roadways. Some walk barefoot, others ride horses or motorcycles. Some even run marathons.

They come from towns all over Costa Rica, some walking several hundred miles, others just a few. But all have one destination in common. They head to the city of Cartago and the Basilica Virgin de Los Angeles to honor La Negrita, Costa Rica's patron saint (also known as Virgen de los Angeles, or Virgin Mary). Cartago is about 14 miles from the capital, San José.

It all started on Aug. 2, 1635 when a woman went out to collect firewood in Cartago and came across rock with a dark colored stone image of the Virgin Mary with Baby Jesus in her arms. She brought it to her house, and locked it up. The image disappeared and then reappeared at the same place in the woods several times. The Costa Rican government declared La Negrita the Patron Saint of Costa Rica in 1824.

The statue, now housed in the Basilica Virgen de Los Angeles in Cartago, earned the name La Negrita because of the dark stone from which it was carved. La Negrita means "little dark one" in Spanish. A small stream, rumored to have curative powers, is nearby.

Upon arriving at the Basilica Virgen de Los Angeles, many pilgrims climb the church steps on their knees, thanking La Negrita for favors granted or praying for help in curing sickness or overcoming obstacles. Visitors also pray by the stone on which the stone figure of La Negrita was originally found, now located at the Basilica.

Many pilgrims collect water from the stream near her shrine, which is believed to help cure sickness. Cartago welcomed 1.5 million pilgrims in August 2003, equal to almost 40 percent of the country's population.

• The Legend: More About La Negrita