The Deceased Correa (in Spanish La Difunta Correa) is a semi- pagan legendary figure in folk-religion, for which a number of people in

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and

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, especially among the popular classes, feel a great devotion. It has spread, in a limited way, to neighbouring countries such as

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. Every year since its inception in 1840, miracles are said to have occurred at the shrine of La Difunta Correa, and thousands of people have visited there to pay their respects. The shrine is situated in the small town of Vallecito, 1160 km from Buenos Aires and 63 km from the city of San Juan.

Birth of a popular saint

According to popular legend, the husband of Deolinda Correa was forcibly recruited around the year 1840, during the Argentine civil wars. When he became sick, he was abandoned by the ''

Montoneras The Montoneras originally were known as the armed civilian, paramilitary groups who organized in the 19th century during the wars of independence from Spain in Latin America. They played an important role in the Argentine Civil War, as well as ...

artisans An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art, ...

In an attempt to reach her sick husband, Deolinda took her baby and followed the tracks of the ''Montoneras'' through the desert of San Juan Province. When her supplies ran out, she died. Her body was found days later by

gauchos A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and the south of Chilean Patagonia. Gauchos became greatly admired an ...

who were driving cattle through. They were astonished when they saw the dead woman's baby was still alive, feeding from her "miraculously" ever-full breast. The men buried her body in present-day Vallecito in the Caucete Department of San Juan, and took her baby with them.

Sanctuary

Once the folk tale became known, the inhabitants of the nearby areas started visiting Deolinda Correa's grave, building after time an oratory that slowly became a sanctuary. The

cultus Cultus may refer to: *Cult (religious practice) * ''Cultus'' (stonefly), a genus of stoneflies *Cultus Bay, a bay in Washington *Cultus Lake (disambiguation) Cultus Lake may refer to: *Cultus Lake, British Columbia, Canada *Cultus Lake (Oregon), Un ...

to the ''Difunta Correa'' is that of an unofficial popular saint, not recognised by the

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. Her devout followers believe her to perform miracles and intercede for the living. The survival of her child would have been her first miracle. Roadside shrine to Difunta Corea

Cattle keepers first, then truck drivers, disseminated the figure of the Difunta, creating

wayside shrine A wayside shrine is a religious image, usually in some sort of small shelter, placed by a road or pathway, sometimes in a settlement or at a crossroads, but often in the middle of an empty stretch of country road, or at the top of a hill or mo ...

s in many roads throughout the country, with images and sculptures of the ''Deceased''. They there leave bottles of water as

votive offering A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generall ...

s, "to calm her eternal thirst". Since the 1940s her sanctuary at Vallecito, at first merely a cross on the top of a hill, has been transformed into a small town in which there are several votive chapels (17 as of 2005), full of offerings. The chapels are donated by her followers, whose names are engraved on plates fixed to the doors. In the chapel located on the top of the hill there is a life-size statue depicting the ''Difunta'' lying face to the heavens, with her child at her breast. The sanctuaries are segregated by themes. For instance, one of the chapels is full of wedding dresses offered to the ''Difunta'' by women whose prayers to get married were fulfilled. Car registrations and scale-model houses can be found all around the hill to the main sanctuary. Visits to the Difunta Correa's Vallecito shrine take place during the whole year, but they are more numerous during Easter or at All-Souls' Day (2 November) and on dates special to truck drivers and gauchos, mostly in summer. On such occasions, crowds of 200,000 people have been claimed.

References

The Legend of Deolinda Correa Unofficial saint of the desert
, Joe Kissell, '' Interesting Thing of the Day'', 26 January 2005

External links

Difunta Correa's official site
(Spanish)

(Spanish)
"Cultures of Devotion by Frank Graziano"
academic website with images relating to Difunto Correa and other Spanish American folk saints. (English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Correa, Difunta Folk saints Religion in Argentina San Juan Province, Argentina Argentine legends

Birth of a popular saint

Sanctuary

See also

References

External links