Our Lady of Chiquinquirá of Maracaibo, "La Chinita"

According to the Maracaibo tradition, on November 18, 1709, a poor washerwoman named María Cárdenas, who lived in the El Saladillo neighborhood, found a small wooden board floating near the shore of Lake Maracaibo while she washed clothes. She took it home and used it as a lid for her water jar. Later, while she was cleaning it, she discovered a faint image of the Virgin, hung it on the wall, and heard knocking: the image was shining and had been miraculously renewed, showing Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá with Saint Anthony and Saint Andrew.

The image was carried in procession toward the cathedral, but tradition says it became too heavy to carry until it was turned toward the little church of San Juan de Dios, where it has remained ever since. That church is today the Basilica of Our Lady of Chiquinquirá: Pope Benedict XV made it a minor basilica in 1920 and approved the canonical coronation of the image, which was crowned on November 18, 1942. The people of Zulia call her "La Chinita" with deep affection.

The celebrations begin in late October with the "Bajada," when the image is solemnly lowered from its place above the main altar so that the faithful can come close to her, with prayers and gaita music. Then comes the Feria de la Chinita, the great November fair of Maracaibo, and on the night before her day the city gathers outside the basilica for the Aurora, singing gaitas until dawn in honor of the Virgin.

The gaita zuliana, the music of Christmas in Venezuela, is full of songs dedicated to La Chinita, and Zulian families abroad, including in Miami, keep the custom of Masses, gaitas and flowers on November 18.