Buga 06/12

My second weekend here, I visited my friend Juan Pablo in Buga, a smaller town that is about an hour away from Cali. Buga is famous for the basilica pictured above, la Basilica del Señor de los Milagros. Thousands of people from all over Colombia and many other Latin American and European countries come to the basilica every year to pray, attend the special mass they have on the 14th of every month, and to see El Negrito, the Christ represented in this church.

On Saturday, we took a walk around town in the evening and went into the basilica and saw part of a mass. Buga is really pretty at night, and the area around the basilica is really calm and quaint. It was nice to be in the atmosphere of a smaller town. We went out to eat chuletas, which are typical food of the area, and consist of large pieces of meat pounded out thin, breaded, and fried. It is typically served on a palm leaf with french fries and a kind of salad.

On Sunday, we visited the basilica museum and I learned the story of El Negrito. The river used to pass through where the church now stands. In the 1500s (or 1400's ? I can't remember), there were few people in this area who believed in Christ, but there was an indigenous woman who believed who had been saving her money to buy a crucifix. She saw a man who was being imprisoned because he had stolen food to feed his children. The woman chose to use her savings to free the man so he could return to his family, rather than purchase the crucifix she had been saving for. The next day, as she was washing her clothes in the river, a small crucifix floated past. (The Christ on this crucifix is black, hence El Negrito) She caught it and put it in a small box in her home. That night, she heard sounds coming from the box, and saw that the crucifix had begun to grow. It grew to the size it is now and was placed in the church. At one point, it was ordered to be burned, which it was. But then some years later, the crucifix began to sweat water and repaired itself. Throughout the years, different people have tried to take the crucifix to various places, includingRome, but it has never left Buga. There is a replica that they use for regular ceremonies, but the real crucifix only leaves the church once every seven years for a procession.

You can wait in line to see El Negrito up close, in a room raised above the altar. The day I was there, there were First Communions going on all day, and the monthly mass on the 14th was the next day, so it was too crowded for us to go, but I have been promised a return visit to see El Negrito.

Painting of El Negrito in the museum

Part of collection of posters throughout the years in the museum

Juan Pablo in the museum. This room is filled with plaques from people all over the world, praying and giving thanks.

Courtyard of museum

Representation of indigenous woman washing clothes in the river and finding the crucifix; this is next to the basilica

It was more important to the indigenous woman to liberate a man than to possess an image.

Basilica del Senor de los Milagros muesum

Inside the basilica

Representation of Christ inside the Basilica

The altar in the Basilica

After seeing the museum and walking through the Basilica again, we walked to the river and saw the old lighthouse (faro). We ate calentado for breakfast/lunch, which is a delicious combination of meat, rice, beans, arepa, and a fried egg, served of course on a palm leaf. We left after eating and took a bus to Darien, a small town on Lago Calima, so that I could meet up with Mauricio and get a ride back on Cali the next day.

El faro

Park surrounding the lighthouse

Street in Buga

Courtyard in front of the Basilica

Statue of Mary in the courtyard in front of the Basilica

Basilica del Senor de los Milagros