A Bolivian Vignette: The Blessing of Cars in Copacabana

What a great introduction to a new country! We’ve just crossed the border from Peru into Bolivia and are making our way through the town of Copacabana towards the boat which will take us to Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca.

We stop to look at the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana – the Patron Saint of Bolivia. Serving as a protector of travellers and children, the Virgin’s shrine has long been a place of pilgrimage for humans and the animals they use for conveyance. Of course, animal transport has been largely replaced with motorised alternatives and so the ritual has followed suit- transferring the blessings from llamas to cars in a ceremony in the adjacent plaza!

We’ve timed it perfectly for today’s ceremony. Rows of cars are lined up and awaiting the blessing. Garlands of flowers, car-sized rosaries, streamers, hats, bows, pom-poms… no panic if you you’ve forgotten something – the market stalls will have what you need!

Not every car is spanking new of course – but it’s new to the driver standing proudly alongside. This first road trip – often of considerable distance – has been made to Copacabana to ensure the safety of all journeys.

The atmosphere is festive – but sincere and one of utmost respect – Bendición de Movilidades is a big deal. The drivers, often accompanied by the extended family in their finest clothes, are busy polishing and adorning their vehicles (inside and out) as they wait their turn.

Finally the priest arrives and the ceremony can begin. He engages in silent prayer with the car’s owner and family in front of the open engine hood. He sprinkles, with holy water, the engine and any additional objects that are laid upon it or on the ground in front of the car. He then goes around the car, sprinkling all sides as well as the interior, before blessing the family and perhaps posing for a photo – there is a professional photographer close by if desired. A donation changes hands and the priest moves on…

As he moves to the next car, the celebrations begin behind him! Depending on ones taste – and budget! – either bubbly or beer or coke is opened ( having been blessed of course!). Some is sprayed onto the car, the rest is reserved for drinking. Yellow flower petals or confetti are thrown at the blessed car, creating a rather sticky mess. Of course, it’s important that the petals stick – then everyone you pass on the way home knows where you’ve been! (Yellow represents luck and is associated with nearby Isla del Sol, Island of the Sun). A string of firecrackers is tossed under the car as the ritual is complete!

I wonder whether the newly bought divine car insurance extends to driving the vehicle home after all the celebrating!!

Isla Del Sol is where Viracocha, the sun god, created the first Inca man and woman. Ancient pilgrims established holy shines on the island and around Lake Titicaca. The Spanish later built churches on top of these holy places but they did not destroy them – anyone wanting to visit their shrine would just have to come to a Catholic church. A new religion was replacing the old but there was also a blending of the two spiritual beliefs and an evolution of unique traditions.

In the late 16th century, a devout Copacabana resident (of Inca descent) wanted to make a statue for his town after being inspired by one he saw in La Paz. When all his efforts were rejected by the clergymen, he travelled some 400 miles to Potosi to learn the art of sculpting from the masters there. Eventually Tito produced his own wooden masterpiece and carried it back to the town – on foot! – where it was accepted by the church. The Virgin of Copacabana was quickly accredited with miraculous powers, so much so, that a basilica was built in her honour in the middle of town.

The basilica was ransacked, and artefacts stolen, during the Bolivian War of Independence although the robbers were careful not to damage the Virgin – affirmation of the respect and fear that the statue now held. With independence in 1825, the Virgin of Copacabana was declared patron saint of the newly established nation.

Nowadays, the statue attracts thousands of pilgrims to Copacabana. The four foot carving is laminated in gold leaf. In keeping with that unusual blend of tradition, she wears the luxurious robes of a Inca princess. The original statue never leaves the sanctuary – a copy is used for processions. Her Feast Day is February 2nd which is celebrated with a local fiesta.

SO – WHO owns the name!!!

Copacabana, in the indigenous Aymara language, means ‘place near the water‘ – so the town was named for its location on Lake Titicaca.

In the 18th century, Bolivians and Peruvians merchants travelling to Rio to trade silver, brought with them their devotion to the Virgin of Copacabana, in the form of a replica of the statue in the basilica. A  small chapel was built on a rock next to the beach, known as Sacopenapa at the time. Such was the devotion to the Virgin that the neighbourhood and beach was eventually renamed…. Copacabana!

Courtesy, Wikimedia Commons

And then, of course, a New York nightclub took its name from the famous party beach…..

Which brings us to Barry Manilow, Lola, her beloved Tony and the nasty Rico!!! ( I bet you’ll be humming it all day now! Sorry!!!)