Historia de la Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre Alonso de Ojeda y los primeros conquistadores de Cuba pretendían imponerse a los indios. Estos los repulsaron y los españoles tuvieron que huir atravesando montes y ciénagas para salvar sus vidas. Así llegaron al poblado indio de Cueiba en la zona de Jobabo. Los indios al verlos en tan mal estado tuvieron compasión de ellos y les auxiliaron. En agradecimiento Alonso Ojeda construyó una pequeña ermita con ramas de árboles, posiblemente la primera en suelo cubano. Allí colocó una Imagen de Nuestra Señora que era su preciada pertenencia.
Cumplió así el voto que había hecho de entregar la Imagen si salía salvo de aquella situación. Enseñó a los… More
Alonso de Ojeda and the first conquerors of Cuba intended to impose themselves on the Indians. These repulsed them and the Spanish had to flee through mountains and swamps to save their lives. This is how they arrived in the Indian town of Cueiba in the Jobabo area. The Indians upon seeing them in such a bad condition had compassion on them and helped them. In gratitude Alonso Ojeda built a small hermitage with tree branches, possibly the first on Cuban soil. There he placed a picture of Our Lady that was her precious belonging.
He fulfilled the vote he had taken to deliver the image if he came out of that situation. He taught the Indians to say the ′′ Hail Mary ′′ and that expression spread so quickly among the Indians that later Cuba became known as the island of ′′ Hail Mary «. There is no reason to think that was the image of the Virgin of Charity that will appear later. But the Virgin was already present in Cuba preparing the way. A great teaching: The Virgin wanted evangelization not to depart from pride but from humility and appreciation. Without understanding religion very well, the Indians of that place revered the image and kept the hermit with great care when Ojeda left.
This was what happened when the Father of the House arrived in the town of Cueiba.
In the th century, cattle breeding increased. It was necessary for the Spaniards on their way to the new territories.
Copper exploitation began in the mountains of eastern region of the island in 1598 At 15 leagues from the mines the Spanish government established the hato of Varajagua or Barajagua that had a lot of cattle. That’s why the salt that prevented the corruption of the flesh was needed. The find
Around the year 1612 or in early 1613, two Indian brothers went to search for salt in Nipe Bay and a black in nine or ten years.
They were called Juan de Hoyos, Rodrigo de Hoyos and Juan Moreno, known for tradition as ′′ the three Juanes «.
While they were going for salt, the appearance of the statue of the Virgin happened.
Here is the report of Juan Moreno, given in 1687, when he was eighty-five years old:
Having ranched in French cay that is in the middle of the Bay of Nipe for good weather to go to the saline, being one morning the calm sea came out of said French cay before the sun rises, the say Juan and Rodrigo de Hoys and this declarant, embarked on a canoe for such saline, and separated from that French Key saw a white thing on the water foam, which did not distinguish what could be, and getting closer seemed to them bird and dry branches.
They said Indian ′′ looks like a girl «, and in these speeches, arrivals, recognized and saw the image of Our Lady the Blessed Virgin with a child Jesus in her arms on a small tablet, and in that tablet some big letters she read Rodrigo de Hoyos said, ′′ I am the Virgin of Charity «, and being her garments in clothes, they admired that they were not wet.
And in this, full of joy, they took only three-thirds of salt and came to Barajagua Hato…»
The manager of the real term Copper Mines, Don Francisco Sanchez de Moya, ordered to lift a hermitage to place the image and established Rodrigo de Hoyos as a chaplain.
One night Rodrigo went to visit the Virgin and noticed she wasn’t there. A unsuccessful search was organized. The next morning, and to everyone’s surprise, the Virgin was back at her altar, without explanation, as the door to the hermitage had stayed closed all night.
The fact was repeated two or three more times until Barajagua thought the Virgin wanted to change places. This is how he moved in the procession, with great regret for them, to the Parish Temple of Copper. The Virgin was met with bell ringing and great joy in her new home, where she was placed on the high altar.
So she came to be known as the Virgin of Copper Charity.
The disappearance of the Virgin was repeated in the Copper. They thought then she wanted to be over the mountains of the Sierra Maestra. This was confirmed when a girl named Apollonia climbed to the hill of the copper mines where her mother worked. The girl was chasing butterflies and collecting flowers when, above the top of one of the mountains, she saw the Virgin of Charity.
The news of little Apollonia caused major stir. Some believed, others didn’t, but the girl stood firm in her testimony. They took the Virgin there. Since the appearance of the statue, the devotion to the Virgin of Charity spread with astonishing speed across the island despite difficult communications.
It was at Copper in 1801 that miners, encouraged by Father Alexandro Ascanio, obtain freedom from Real Cédula on April 7
Over the years, a greater compound was acquired to build a new sanctuary that could accommodate the growing number of pilgrims, inauguration with the move of the Virgin on September 8, 1927. The Cuban people lived the joy of the coronation of the image of the Virgin of Charity in the city of Santiago de Cuba and many were then the initiatives to agasajar the Mother of Cubans. One of them was the gift of the ′′ Jewels of the Virgin of Charity «.
To carry out this initiative, a contest was held in which five Crown models were presented. The Bishops of Cuba-by common accord-chose the design of the Santiaguero Don Juan E. Hernandez Gir ó and former director of the Academy of Fine Arts in Havana.
The full game features the crown of the Virgin and her halo, the crown of the Child Jesus and the Cross.
The halo symbolizes the sun and has around its circular twelve stars, crowned by the anagram A.M. symbolizing the oldest prayer to the Virgin Mary, the Hail Mary.
The crown for its part, exhibits on its eight sides the shields of Cuba-to the center of the Royal Palm Shield, symbol of the nation-also shows the motto ′′ Ambulavit Mater ′′ which is part of the original message Mater Caritatis in fluctibus maris ambulavit ′′ meaning ′′ Mother of Charity who walked on water «. Both jewels were made in 18 carat gold and platinum, 1450 diamonds are bound, bright, rubies, emeralds, pearls among other precious stones.
The crown of the Child Jesus-gold and platinum -, garnished with bright and pearls, shows the tiara pontificia on its front face. The Platinum Cross, which holds the Virgin in its right hand, is made up of bright and amethysts.
The work of goldsmithing was done in the habanero workshop ′′ La Estrella de Italia «, House that has linked its name and its works to the artistic history of Cuba, and whose director Julio Roots, made the crown that since called the crown attention for his wealth and art; and he was exposed for eight days in a Havana trade so everyone could appreciate it.
The image of the Virgin is located at the top of the altar, marble of Carrara, of the Sanctuary of El Copper, and is currently protected inside an urn on a mobile pedestal that allows its location both for the main ship of the Copper temple as to your dressing room for special celebrations.
It is known that the original image of the Virgin has emerged from the premises of this Sanctuary only five times: in 1936 when she was crowned at the Alameda of Michaelsen by the Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba Mons. Fray Valent ínn Zubizarreta and Unamunzaga; in 1952 for the 1952th anniversary of the Republic on the Avenue del Puerto in Havana; in 1959 to attend the Catholic National Congress in the Civic Plaza in Havana; in January 1998 to be crowned by Pope Juan Paul II at Antonio Maceo Square in Santiago, Cuba; and in March 2012 for the Mass with Pope Benedict XVI in Plaza Antonio Maceo in Cuba. ·