A Cuban identified as Luisa Andrea Sánchez Pérez posted a video on TikTok last Thursday, in which she is seen entering on her knees to the Church of the Virgin of Cobre, in Santiago de Cuba, as fulfillment of a religious promise.
"Paying my promise to the Virgin of Cobre," the young woman wrote when she published the video, which shows the emotional moment as she kneels and advances towards the interior of the sanctuary while a song dedicated to the patroness of Cuba plays.
The recording, nearly three minutes long, is accompanied by a melody that invokes it with verses such as "Queen of Cuba, of hope and faith / Your love is the light that will make us reborn" and "The children of this land call out to you, they feel you / You are strength in the struggle, present comfort."
The practice of entering on one’s knees to the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre is one of the most deeply entrenched expressions of popular religiousness in Cuba.
The faithful perform this gesture as a sign of humility and gratitude for a favor granted, or as fulfillment of a vow made in moments of need or distress.
This type of devotional act has gained visibility on social media in recent years. In January 2025, the case of a young woman who entered the sanctuary on her knees dressed in yellow and with sunflowers was documented, colors associated with the Virgin and her equivalent in Cuban santería, Ochún.
In September 2025, another similar case was reported: a Cuban who advanced on his knees with sunflowers in the Basilica of Santiago de Cuba, amidst tears.
Similar scenes have also been documented in the diaspora. A Cuban fulfilled her promise at the Ermita de la Caridad in Miami in September 2024, and another kneeling climbed the steps of a church that same month.
The Virgin of Charity of El Cobre is the most important religious figure in Cuba. Her image was found floating in Nipe Bay around 1612-1613 by three young men known as "the three Juans."
Pope Benedict XV declared her the Patroness of Cuba in 1916, at the request of veterans from the War of Independence. Her sanctuary, inaugurated on September 8, 1927 and elevated to Basilica by Paul VI in 1977, is the main pilgrimage center in the country.
In Cuban religious syncretism, the Virgin of Charity is identified with Ochún, the orisha of love and fertility in the Regla de Ocha or santería, which extends her devotion beyond Catholicism.
The liturgical feast of the patroness of Cuba is celebrated every September 8, when the sanctuary of El Cobre welcomes thousands of pilgrims from across the island and from the diaspora.
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