Dozens of Cubans joined this Saturday in the procession of the Virgen de la Caridad de El Cobre, which passed through the streets of El Vedado, in the Havana municipality of Plaza de la Revolución.
The route, which started at the Parish of San Juan de Letrán - at 19 and J street - extended to the Church of the Sacred Heart, at Línea and D.
On the way, the attendees had to face a heavy downpour, as evidenced by images shared by Cubanet.
Once the procession was over, the mass was celebrated at the Sacred Heart parish.
The story goes that the image of the Virgen de la Caridad appeared in the Bay of Nipe between 1604 and 1613.
The most famous version tells that she was found by three slaves from the open-pit mine El Cobre, who brought her out of the sea and took her to the town where she is venerated to this day in her Sanctuary.
On May 10, 1916, Pope Benedict XV proclaimed the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre as the Patroness of Cuba.
This invocation of Mary, Mother of God, is known by names such as Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, the Mother of Cuba, the Mambisa Virgin, the Patroness of Cubans, Cachita, Oshún, the Queen of Freshwater, among others.
No matter what they call her, for millions of Cubans, this virgin is more than words or a pretty image in a church. It is an authentic feeling of love, devotion, and faith that is nurtured from a mysterious root of common identity.
In the Cuban religious tradition, marked by syncretism, the Virgin of Charity of El Cobre is also venerated as the Yoruba goddess Oshún.
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