Land of stories /Church del Valle

A warm hug to all my esteemed steemit community. I want to share with you the knowledge I have acquired about the Basilica del Valle, which I have been increasing after each trip to the Island of Margarita.

It was the first church built on the island of Margarita between 1510 and 1518. At the beginning, it was a small temple. It was created by the need to protect the image of the venerated Virgen del Valle, called "Patron of the East", after a trough in Cubagua (a small town in the town). Later it was proclaimed with the name of Minor Basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1995.

Its name is in honor of the patron saint of that town and the Venezuelan Navy: the Virgen del Valle. Which tells the story that his sculpture was found many years before all the previous mentioned in some bushes, by the Guaiqueríes Indians, who inhabited the territory primitively.

Vallita has worked innumerable miracles for his faithful believers. The oldest known occurred in 1608, when a strong drought ravaged Margarita. Through the procession, an abundant rain broke out that quenched the thirst of the islanders. It is said that the Virgin of the Valley itself attended the wounded and dying of an important battle that occurred in 1817. And the most interesting of all, a pearl fisherman named Domingo suffered a sting in the thigh by part of a stingray (marine animal) . As the wound worsened, the amputation of the leg was proposed to save the life of the fisherman, who asked the Virgin to give him back his health in exchange for offering him the first pearl he captured in the sea. After healing, Domingo found on the seabed an oyster with a pearl in the form of a leg inside. This jewel can be seen today in the Diocesan Museum of the Virgen del Valle, located in Margarita and opened in 1989.

Every year on September 8, the Basilica del Valle welcomes thousands of parishioners who attend the festivities of the Virgin. During the day there is a mass, while in the evening there are musical and dance ensembles.

I am one of the most faithful worshipers of the Virgin, because I have her third name. Together with my family, we fulfill the joy of attending their celebrations every year, and of course I can not ignore the joy of capturing all the visits I've made to such a majestic place.