Climbing “El Cerro Calvario”
I hope this post is better late than never…?
I started writing last week about my experiences at the religious
festival of the Virgin of Urkupiña. Well, today I am writing about the most
interesting part of this festival, and my most memorable experience in Bolivia:
Climbing “El Cerro Calvario,” or “Calvary Hill.”
The story of the Virgin of Urkupiña very much resembles the
apparition of the Virgen of Guadalupe to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin in Mexico
(thank you, Religion 12!). According to the
legend, in the mid-18th century a glorious woman carrying an infant
appeared to a young Quechua shepherdess upon the mountainside where the girl
was tending her sheep. When the shepherdess’s family and townsmen returned to
the hill where the miraculous woman had appeared, they found a beautiful image
of the lady with her son, which they called the Virgin Mary of Urkupiña. A temple for the Virgin was built up on this
hill in Quillacollo, much like Mexico City's famous Basílica de Nuestra Señora de
Guadalupe. According to Sanne Derks in Power andPriveledge: Dealing With Class, Gender and Ethnic Inequality at a BolivianMarian Shrine (which I highly recommend), today “the power of the Virgin of
Urkupiña is that she integrates people from all [over Bolivia]” (p. 61). Every
year, pilgrims from all corners of the country come to worship the Virgin of
Urkupiña at the “Cerro Calvario”, and this year I was one of these pilgrims!
Now, I have already written about the mesmerizing“Entrada”
of folkloric dances in worship of the Patroness of Urkupiña (and here is some
YouTube footage of this parade if you’d like to see for yourself). However,
in the days following the Entrada, pilgrims visit Cerro Calvario (‘Calvary
Hill’) to celebrate the Virgin, make offerings, and ask for health and
prosperity in the year to come.
The best-known ritual during this part of the festival
involves pilgrims taking a sledge hammer to the hill to “borrow” rocks. According to the legend of Urkupiña, the
Virgin told the young shepherdess to, “gather stones from the hillside and
return them home to her family. Following the orders of the Virgin, the girl
gathered several stones and carried them towards her home. By the time she
reached home, however, the stones had turned to silver, and the girl and her
family were thus pulled out of poverty” (http://amizade.org/2011/08/virgen-de-urkupina-a-vibrant-bolivian-celebration/). (This story may remind fellow religious history
buffs again of Juan Diego, who was instructed by an apparition of
the Virgin Mary to climb a hill, gather the roses he found there, and carry
them in this tilma to show to the local Catholic Bishop. Of
course, when Juan Diego unfolded his tilma for the Bishop, the roses cascaded
out to reveal a spectacular icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe emblazoned on his
peasant’s garb. But I digress…) Nowadays, pilgrims come to “borrow” rocks from
the sacred hillside. In exchange for wealth in the year to come, they promise
the Virgin to return the rocks the following year.
As I mentioned, climbing ‘Calvario’ was one of my most
memorable experiences here in Bolivia and certainly the most interesting! I
went to the hill by myself on the Friday of the Ceremony and was amazed by the scene I found. The streets of this usually dilapidated town where filled with colorful make-shift shops and even more colorful characters. A word of caution to future tourists: Though Urkupiña is a religious festival, don’t think the locals will miss an opportunity
to try to swindle you! The festival is a spiritual pilgrimage for people from
all corners of Bolivia, but it is also an opportunity for peasants from poorer ‘departamentos’
(Bolivian states) to come and make some money off of the tourism, especially
from foreigners. It is definitely best to check out the festival with a native Spanish-speaker who knows when prices are fair or not.
Below are some of the pictures I took at the
conclusion of Urkupiña, and explanations to boot!
This is the view of Quillacollo from Calvario. You can see the 'camino' is lined with vendors.
The festival of Urkupiña is a religious pilgrimage for people from all
corners of Bolivia, but it is also an opportunity for peasants from poorer ‘departamentos’
(Bolivian states) to come and earn some much-needed money. Many families from Potosí, the poorest departament, come to
the festival to give tours to foreigners like myself or, if they are children,
to dance or beg for money like these young girls.
This is my favorite photo so far, and this young girl was very sweet.
These girls from Potosí were also kind enough to let me take their photo.
Behind them you can see the temple for the Virgin on Calvary Hill.
Burning incense over prayer is the first step of the religious ceremony...
Then comes breaking rocks!
After this comes "toasting" the Virgin of Urkupiña by buying several bottles of beer and pouring them all over the place. I didn't take any pictures of this step- Instead a cautiously packed my camera away in my water-proof bag!
"Sacred Place"
Another view of Quillacollo from Calvario. And, finally...
Signs like this line the path up to Calvario. In English, it reads:
Sweet Mother of Urcupiña!
There is no faith without charity; there is no charity without faith.
The consent of Mary is the model of our faith!
Some context: The final phrase on this sign refers to the scene in Lucas 1 where the birth of Jesus is foretold. Upon hearing from the angel Gabriel that she would bear the Son of God (Lucas 1:35), Mary replied, " 'I am the Lord’s servant...May your word to me be fulfilled' ” (Lucas 1:38).
Congratulations: You've finally made it to the end of this post! I hope you've enjoyed learning a little about Catholicism in Latin America. I myself am not an observant Catholic, but I do find religion fascinating!
I will write again soon about my final day at PAI Tarpuy (spoiler alert: there will be tons of photos of ADORABLE kiddos).
Hasta pronto,
Christine
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