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The well-kept secrets of Our Lady of Quinche
14February

The well-kept secrets of Our Lady of Quinche

Our Lady of Quinche Open Chair of History, University of Cuenca
In one of the branches of the Western Cordillera of the Ecuadorian Andes, seventy kilometers from the city of Loja, the parish El Cisne is located, land that jealously protects one of the most venerated images nationally: the popular Our Lady of Quinche, also known as the Churona.

Since the invocation to Our Lady of Quinche, granted in 1596, to the present, religious festivities that are commonly celebrated in the month of August are increasingly integrating more followers and gaining importance, not only from the religious but also social, anthropological and academic sphere. However, very little is known of the history of the original image of Our Lady of Quinche. How, when and why did she arrive? What process did she follow to keep preserved over time? But above all, what secrets keep this sculpture?

A town that holds the most venerated image

In 1595, in the city of Quito, at the request of the natives of El Cisne de Loja, artist Diego de Robles developed a faithful replica of the image of Our Lady of Quinche, i.e. the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico. A year later, in 1596, the delicate brunette virgin with her child in hand reached the village of El Cisne and was located in a simple chapel made of adobe and straw.

"The creation of Our Lady of Quinche was the fulfillment of a promise that the natives of this town had done to the Virgin Mary; after she allowed them the planting and plenty of water for their land.”

The news of the miracle of the Churona spread to the city of Loja and soon all Ecuador and even much of northern Peru, reason why Bishop Fray López de Solís started in 1596 the process of invocation to Our Lady of Quinche, indicating months of celebration like December, to be considered the time of conception, as the October 12, for being the day of the appearance of the Churona.

"During these holidays a solemn Mass that lasted three days was performed. The first day was in charge of mestizos representatives of the city of Loja; the second, of the natives of the doctrine of Our Lady of Quinche and the last, the Indians of the whole region and other areas outside the country. "


Popular Procession with the ChurronaSuch was the importance of dedication to Our Lady of Quinche, that in 1829, from the headquarters of Guayaquil, Simon Bolivar issued a decree stating privilege of fair from August 10 until September 12 of each year during the feast of Our Lady of Quinche. He also stated that according to the ecclesiastical authority of the Diocese of Loja, this holiday should be moved annually to the city of Loja.

Our Lady of Quinche has gone through some risks, the most dangerous on November 3, 1956: in the Church of San Sebastian de Loja the image suffered an important deterioration as a victim of a raging fire. Within this context and under prior license required by canon 1280 and delivered by the diocesan Bishop Nicanor Roberto Aguirre, from the community of Oblates in charge of the sanctuary of the Cisne, the image was restored, but the creation of an exact original sculpture replica was also allowed to safeguard the latter from any future damage.

The restoration process

In 2012, the National Institute for Regional Cultural Heritage launched a project called Preservation and Restoration of thirty movable properties existing in different containers in the provinces of El Oro, Loja and Zamora Chinchipe, in charge of a large team of professionals and experts that went from restorers to artists and historians led by Danilo Delgado Espinoza. I belonged to the team as a research member at the historical component.

The two images of Our Lady of Quinche, i.e. both the original and the replica, were on the list of goods to intervene. The priority was focused on conservation rather than restoring them.

During the process, the original image three bases were identified, two of which were withdrawn. When moving the second base, secured with nails quadrangular –in the beginning of the Republic- a hole was detected at the bottom of the original base, a fact that caused a series of expectations for further comments some priests of the community of El Cisne, who indicated that within the sculpture a document that would reveal secrets could be found.

This hole, with a depth of about two inches, was empty. However, on the back of a second hole revealed the presence of a test tube that held two documents: the larger dating from 1956 and the smallest, possessing an unintelligible text by its condition, it was not possible to immediately know its date. It was learned later that it was written in 1837. Upon completion of the conservation process each of the items removed in advance were placed.

What did the writings found in the image contain? Historical documents indicate that Diego de Robles was the author of the original image of Our Lady of Quinche, but very little was known of those responsible for restoring this important religious icon.

In 1956, after the destruction of much of the sculpture of Our Lady of Quinche as a result of a fire and prior canonical authorization, a group of sculptors and artists intervened the image.

During this process and effect of fire, the face of the Virgin, which was built of lead, weakened so that when collapsing unveiled inside it a small ancient document of early republic indicating a previous restoration.

To reflect this finding, both the hired artists and Oblate priests, who at that time were in charge of the administration of Sanctuary-- transcribed and signed the original document in the third notary´s office of Canton Loja, stating the following: "For proper authenticity stating by this deed, the document that due to retouch the image of the crowned queen of El Cisne, this year, was found by Mr. Luis Alberto Aguirre, sculptor; Mr. Guido Aguirre, sculptor; Mr. Miguel Ángel Aguirre, modeler, from Ecuador; and Mr. Antonio Preising, painter, a German citizen. "In further lines, the same script exposes another major event, indicating that on May 2, 1837 this image was restored by Felipe Santiago Herrera.

There is a document waiting to be unveiled.

It is important to mention those who witnessed and left evidence of this statement as " The Titular Bishop of Cisne and Vicar Capitular of Loja Monsignor Nicanor Roberto Aguirre, Mr. Dr. Francisco Valdivieso, Mr. Don Manuel E. Eguiguren; Mr. Don Miguel Angel Guerrero; master sculptor Mr. Luis Alberto Aguirre and Notary Public, Dr. Filoteo Ortega. "The oldest brief still gathers data to be unveiled.

Historical documents found are, in many occasions, the compass to identify clues and find answers to questions that we believe will never be resolved. However, at times these documents are the meaning of the search, i.e. they are no longer the map and become the treasure.

Important documents were found inside one of the most significant religious images of Ecuador, one of them is not yet revealed by the authorities.