La Difunta Correa

In Vallecito, San Juan Province, Argentina, people venerate the Difunta Correa, one of the country's most massive folk devotions even though the Church does not officially recognize it. Legend says that around the mid-19th century, during the civil wars, Deolinda Correa set off on foot across the desert following the army that had taken away her sick husband, carrying her nursing baby. Her water and strength ran out and she died of thirst under the merciless sun. Days later some muleteers found her body and, to their astonishment, the baby was still alive, feeding at the dead mother's breast. The 'miracle' made her a popular saint, protector of travelers and truck drivers. Along Argentine highways one sees small red shrines surrounded by water bottles that drivers leave to quench her eternal thirst. In Vallecito her sanctuary draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims each year giving thanks for favors. It is folk faith born of the desert and of compassion.