La Negrita

Yesterday was the Day of the Virgen of Los Angeles in Costa Rica. Many people walk miles to make a promise to the Virgen either in Cartago or, in my case, in Los Angeles, which is just outside of Santa Barbara in Guanacaste. During training, we participated in a scavenger hunt in Cartago, and my group was tasked with learning the story of the Virgen of Los Angeles and the meaning behind the holy water. It’s a pretty cool story- there was a girl that discovered a doll in the forest but, when she returned to the spot the next day, the doll was gone. This continued to happen- one day it was there, the next day it was gone- and the girl finally went to speak to the priest. The priest concluded that this could only be explained by a miracle- an act of God.

Anyway, they built the church in Cartago in the exact spot where the doll appeared. The Virgen of Los Angeles is associated with miracles. For this reason, many of the people who make pilgrimages to visit La Negrita, as the Virgen is called, are asking for a miracle. They collect the holy water with buckets, as they believe that it has the power to heal. (When we were in Cartago, we witnessed people bathing themselves with the water.) Many approach la Negrita on their knees, inching forward from the entrance of the church to the altar.

When I heard that there would be a romeria (also called a caminata- caminar = to walk) from Ortega to Los Angeles, I decided I would participate, as it is a local tradition and I am trying to integrate into my community. I was told that we would meet at the church at 4am; although, I had spoken with others who wanted to leave at 1am or 2am in an effort to avoid the many guilas (general term for girls and boys) who go to vacilar (to joke around). Anyway, when I arrived, I was disappointed to see that there was only one other person waiting. Fortunately, I knew her from aerobics. She wanted to get going, so we set off, just the two of us, for burrolandia (the land of burros) sans foco (flashlight). I tried to make conversation, figuring it would be a much longer walk in silence, but was confronted with one word answers. Maybe she’s praying, I thought, as many recite the rosary as they make their promise to la Negrita. I don’t want to be that person that sits next to you on the plane or bus and asks filler questions while you’re trying to read or listen to music. Luckily, shortly after we left, we ran into two other women I knew, so I stopped stressing about making conversation.

Four hours later, and about 15 miles, we arrived in Santa Barbara, greeted with food vendors selling pastels de arroz con pollo or arroz con carne (rice with chicken, rice with meat) and frescos de zanahoria, frutas, y horchata (carrots, fruit, and something that tastes like chocolate milk). While we rested in the center of town, the guilas arrived from Ortega on bikes, and we headed toward the church. They processed with La Negrita from the church to a beautiful outdoor altar, where they would say mass later that morning. With a pounding headache from the sun and dehydration and throbbing pain in all of my joints, I decided to make my promise to the Virgen and head back to the bus stop. I definitely pulled a Tara O’Brien waiting in line to touch the representation of the Virgen, thinking as I inched closer, H1N1… I ended up touching it in the most obscure place I could find- one of the stars dangling in the back. Ha, I do the same thing in public bathrooms- trying to touch a really high or really low part of the door. Anyway, it was a memorable experience and I decided that I’m going to train for next year’s romeria so that I can return on foot as well. (I hitched a ride back to my town with the girl from aerobics.) Hitching a ride, by the way, is basically the same in Spanish- “ride”, but roll the “r.” Ticos use the thumb too, but they hold it out sideways…

One other tradition on the Day of the Virgen of Los Angeles is to host the rosary for community members. There were prayers at at least four houses- at 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, and 5pm. Those that host the rosary do so as their promise to the Virgen and prepare chicheme (drink made from corn) and comidita (could be arroz con pollo, arroz con carne) expecting to feed at least 100 people. While many participate in the rosary, I would estimate that more than half of the people that go to the rezo (prayer) go to socialize and eat. I heard more than a few people complaining of a stomach ache yesterday because they had gone to all four rezos.

To change the subject, you might be interested in knowing that I’m taking a class through UNED, which means something like the “distance learning university.” The class is 20 hours (five Saturdays for four hours) and has to do with project planning. My work counterpart is also enrolled, as well as a member of our Comité Tutelar, which is a community organization that has to do with children’s rights. The material has a lot to do with community development and sustainability, so it fits well with my project assignment in Ortega. The other “students” are community leaders as well.

Four random cultural notes to leave you with:

Sunscreen- this is a completely novel concept apparently because, over the course of a day, I am told more than a few times that I am really sweating. Even if it weren’t suntan lotion, OF COURSE I’M SWEATING! YOU ARE SWEATING TOO, I want to say sometimes.

Gorda- the word “fat” is thrown around way too often, in my opinion. “Isn’t she fat,” I am frequently asked. They can hear you, I panic. They’re sitting right next to me. My response? “They’re beautiful.”

Brava- so the word “brava” is used in a million and one different contexts. The literal translation is something like “angry” or “furious.” The following things can be described as “brava”: women, waves, the sun, dogs, and people who are eating.

Ahorita- this has thrown many of us PCVs off since day one. “Ahora”, which we were taught to have meant “now” in Spanish 101, can mean anywhere from “in a few minutes” to “3+ hours from now.” For example, yesterday, when I was waiting for the bus back to my town, I was told that the bus was coming “ahorita.” It was 920am and the bus was due to arrive at 1130am. That’s not “now”, I thought, that’s FOREVER from now!