One says that” a brown” woman (she could be India, mestiza or colored person) was gathering firewood in a scrub near her house the morning of the 2 of August, when she found on a stone an image of the Virgin with the Boy in arms. It was a stone statue of about twenty centimeters of stop. Juana Pereira gathered it and I keep it in a box in its house. Nevertheless, twice but it found the sculpture in the same stone where it had appeared it and when wanting to keep it in its house, thinking that it was another image, it noticed that no longer it was. Before this fact, the woman was scared and gone to look for the priest of Carthage, to that told the happened thing him and I give the image to him. The priest I keep it in a box, but on the following day she appeared again on the stone; then the priest, accompanied by several people gathered it and I keep it, but to the other day he returned to appear in the same stone. Then they included/understood that the Virgin wanted to have her house in that place. It was baptized to him with the name of Virgin of Los Angeles, because the 2 of August franciscanos celebrate the festividad of our Mrs. of Los Angeles.

Just a short time later, the neighbors decided to make a hermitage in the place, nevertheless, they were pawned on making a worthy temple of her, cost what cost. One knows that in the 1681 temple practically was finished. Unfortunately, the church I am destroyed few years after released, with the earthquake of principles of January of 1715.

The faithfuls organized themselves to raise the temple for the second time. This second church was finished between 1723 and 1727. Later, little by little they were extending it and embellishing, but I am destroyed after the earthquake of the 7 of May of 1822. Two years later returned to organize themselves to initiate the works of the construction of another temple. Then it happened another earthquake the 2 of September of 1841, that damage leaves from the structure, but could be repaired. Nevertheless, the earthquake of the 4 of May of 1910 destroyed it completely. Once again, the devotee ones of the Virgin of Los Angeles were organized to initiate the works of the present basilica, that I am finished in 1930. This structure has antiseismic bases, that have resisted many tremors and even the 1924 earthquake, when the temple still was in construction. The Basilica serves from refuge the image and is visited by thousands of faithfuls.

Father Baltazar de Grado was the priest of Carthage at the moment of the appearance of the Virgin of Los Angeles and when dying a census made a donation so that with its product every year of made the celebration “as usual”.

Some historical data