If the small Jalisco town of Talpa de Allende is not in the middle of nowhere, it is just on the edge of it, hidden among the lonely hills of the Sierra Occidental, about two-thirds of the way from Guadalajara to Puerto Vallarta.
Nevertheless, 3 million people go out of their way to visit Talpa every year and a great many of them do it on foot.
Most of these visitors are peregrinos, or pilgrims, many of them hoping to receive a blessing or perhaps even a miracle from a small statue about 30 centimeters tall known as the Virgen del Rosario, the Virgin of the Rosary.
This statue was brought to Talpa in 1585 by Tarasco Indians. Made of cornstalk paste, it held up until 1644, when, “worm-eaten, rotting, broken and disfigured,” it was about to be buried, as is the custom for disposing of these church statues when their useful life has come to an end. At that moment, says the legend, “a resplendent light burst forth from the image,” knocking over and literally knocking out the “undertaker.” When calm was restored, it was discovered that the little virgin, too, had been restored to her former beauty, all in the twinkling of an eye and the flash of a heavenly light. Ever since, say devotees, the miracles have just kept coming.
Many who walk all or part of the Pilgrims’ Route are devoted to the Virgencita, but many others are there simply for the camaraderie that inevitably develops among Mexicans away from home … or they simply would like to say, “I did it! I walked all the way!”
Please login or subscribe to view the complete article.