A miraculous apparition
The Virgin of Candelaria is one of Mary’s invocations that attracts most devotion in Yucatan, particularly in the east of the state, and the statue to be found in Valladolid has an especially fervent following in the region.
Although the date when this revered image was made is unknown, its stylistic features appear to place it in the 18th century. However, oral tradition has preserved several stories about its origin, linking it to wondrous apparitions.
For example, the anthropologist Efraín Medina Alcocer tells the story of a peasant who once went to cut wood for his landlord´s house, and the Virgin appeared to him and asked him to build her a chapel. The man did as she asked, and then returned to the house, where the landlord demanded the wood he was supposed to bring. The villager told him what had happened, but he did not believe him. So they went together to the site of the apparition, and found a statue of the Virgin, holding a child in one hand, and a candle in the other.
The statue has great religious significance for the local faithful, because of the miracles attributed to it. One in particular, according to popular accounts recorded by Efraín Medina, gave rise to festivities celebrated today: many years ago, an epidemic of small pox was ravaging Valladolid. The townspeople commended themselves to the Virgin, begging her to put an end to the disease. And so it came to pass, and ever since then the statue has been celebrated from the 29th of January to the 2nd of February, in one of the most important festivities in the east of Yucatan.
The carving is remarkable for the elegance of the Virgin’s attire, and that of the Child, as well as the crowns they wear. At various times of year, the statue is clothed in a typical Yucatecan regional costume.
The Virgin of Candelaria, who stands in the main altarpiece of her eponymous church, can be visited during times of religious services.
The Virgin of Candelaria also lends her name to the district where she is to be found, which is part of Valladolid, a city some 160 kilometers (99 miles) east of Merida. The city was founded in 1545 on the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Zací, which according to the Cordemex Maya Dictionary means “white sparrowhawk”, from zac white, and í sparrowhawk. Since 2012, Valladolid has been designated one of Yucatan’s Magical Towns.
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