Señor de los Milagros & the Purple Month in Lima
Each year, on October 28th, the largest religious procession in South America takes to the streets of Lima in honor of the Lord of Miracles (Señor de los Milagros). The city is overtaken by a festival atmosphere and by the color which believers don throughout the month in a show of devotion- even the city’s soccer team changes into purple. Because of an image painted by an Angolan slave centuries ago, October in Lima is known as the Purple Month and is marked by festivities and the year’s most prestigious bullfights. October even has its own pastry that bakeries and street vendors throughout the city hawk with enthusiasm: the Turrón de Doña Pepa.
The Lord of Miracles is an image of a black Christ which was painted by a freed Angolan slave during colonial times, on the mud-brick wall of a hut at the Pachacamilla plantation near Lima. On October 28th, 1746, the wall with the image survived an earthquake and subsequent tsunami that leveled everything around it and much of Lima. At this point, a legend was born and the image began to develop a following. Increasingly large devotional gatherings around the painting distressed religious officials, but the image survived attempts at erasure as well. In time, the Lord of Miracles became the most widely venerated image in the city of Lima.
Another legendary figure associated with October and the Lord of Miracles is Doña Pepa, another slave, who credited the Lord of Miracles for restoring the use of her arms and hands. In return, she created a sticky anise-flavored pastry that she offered in his honor. Some people find the turrón to be too sweet, and if you’re one of these another option would be picarones, pumpkin fritters in syrup. Another traditional choice associated with the festivities is the marinated and skewered beef heart known as anticucho.
Although festivities will span the month, the main days honoring the Lord of Miracles are the 18th, 19th, and the 28th of October. The 24-hour procession on the 28th is one of the largest in the Americas. Tens of thousands of devotees wear purple tunics as they accompany the image, which is carried through the streets on a little weighing two tons. Members of different religious fraternities support the litter on their shoulders in alternating shifts, covering a route from the image’s home church of Las Nazarenas through downtown Lima to the church of La Merced in Barrios Altos. Along the route, you are likely to spot religious vendors, vendors selling food and alcohol, andfolkloric dances such as the marinera, Peru’s national dance, and the Afro-Peruvian festejo. The streets are strewn with flowers and confetti, and the atmosphere is festive. Even travelers who aren’t religious are bound to enjoy the celebrations.
