CU el cobre
August 6, 2001

EL COBRE, Cuba - The sweet smell of white lilies fills the basilica as the girls kneel before their beloved, little mulatta virgin and whisper promises. Cuba's patron saint, the Virgin of Charity, has been called upon to serve as protector to the island's people, whether revolutionary leaders, guerrilla rebels or rafters. The faithful have flocked here bearing medals and diplomas, jewelry and crutches. They come to give thanks, ask for favors or pray for success. On a recent Sunday morning, three girls celebrating their quinces, the Latin version of a sweet 16, paid their respects. Wearing makeup, a flowing white dress and flowers in her upswept hair, Dalia Laurencio could easily be mistaken for a young bride. She and her family have traveled from the suburbs of Chicago to the eastern end of Cuba to celebrate her 15th birthday in her father's homeland. Although it is her first trip to Cuba, Dalia -- like most Cuban Americans -- grew up believing in the powers of La Virgen de la Caridad. "It's an exciting day," she said. "I've grown up knowing her and being Catholic. This is a lot more beautiful than I imagined. The promise I made was to be more into my Catholic faith." The 18-inch virgin with the golden robe is as revered in Miami as she is in Havana. But her shrine is here, tucked into the island's eastern, emerald mountains and surrounded by blooming, orange flamboyan trees. About 12 miles northwest of Santiago, Cuba's second-largest city, El Cobre is a common pilgrimage site for Cubans across the island and around the world. A motley collection of mementos lines the walls and tables of a small room in the shrine. Offerings include a plastic bag full of fingernail clippings left by a grateful engineering student, athletes' medals and an egg-sized kidney stone. Other devotees have left a Florida license plate, pastel-colored baby clothes, braids of hair, ballet slippers, table tennis paddles, handcuffs, photos -- anything to repay the virgin's benevolent intervention. Notes are posted for successful medical operations or good grades on university exams. The virgin's popularity is magnified by the fact that practitioners of Santeria, one of Cuba's afro-Cuban religions, also adore her. To them she represents Ochun, the sensual deity identified with rivers and love. Even avowed atheists seem swayed by la virgencita's celestial clout. "I'm not a believer, but she has done a lot for us Cubans," said Israel Rodriguez Gonzalez, 38, who visited the shrine from Havana. "I did ask her for health. I want for myself what I want for all Cubans: health and peace. It's not much." Scholars disagree in the details of her discovery, but legend has it La Virgen de la Caridad was found floating in the stormy waters of the nearby Bay of Nipe in the 1600's by two brothers and a slave boy. In one arm she carried a mulatto baby Jesus and in the other a jewel-encrusted cross. Her wooden base was inscribed with the words, "Yo soy la Virgen de la Caridad," ("I am the Virgin of Charity"). Some say she had been cast into the ocean some 100 years before her discovery by an Indian chieftain who wanted to protect her from other indigenous chiefs. Versions of the story go on to say the virgin saved the youths from certain death in the churning storm. Worshipers flood the streets of El Cobre every year on Sept. 8, her feast day. The shrine, of course, has spun a small army of artisans and vendors who hawk small wooden replicas of the virgin and thrust sunflower and rose bouquets into the cars of unsuspecting visitors, hoping to make a few dollars in this slow tourist season. But for most a visit to El Cobre is a sacred event born of need and faith and reverence. "She has never let me down. Everything I've ever asked her for has come to pass," said Maria Elena Quintana, 34, of Santiago. "We have proof; we've seen her miracles."