La Mamita de Charagua

The Virgin of Charagua

Charagua is a hopeless little town in the Bolivian Chaco. And though hopeless it may be, blessed it is yet, for a special keeper it has.

Long ago when some poor souls were luckless enough to wander through the Bolivian Chaco, only God knows when, BEHOLD, there appeared the Virgin Mary. And thus the people decided to stay in the place, build a tiny pueblo (which no one ever bothered to finish), and dedicate themselves to this Virgin of Charagua. And so they sculpted her icon and adoringly placed her in their little chapel. And the days passed, with the Charaguaños praying to their virgin and farming their little Chaco.

Years later, while the world was distracted with the Great Depression, greedy little Paraguay invaded from the South, marching all the way to the Bolivian Chaco, thus beginning the Great Chaco War. And as the Paraguayan soldiers marched upward and onward, passing through blessed Charagua, one soldier in particular took notice of the little Virgin and wanted her for himself. How can I take the Virgin of Charagua back to Paraguay he asked himself? And thinking some time, he decided he would force her into his little suitcase. But, BEHOLD, she did not fit. How can I make the Virgin of Charagua fit in my suitcase he asked himself? And thinking some time, he decided he would cut off her feet. And footless, she fit for a felonious flight to a foreign family.

Many years the soldier hid her in his home. But asked of his wife that she return the Virgin to Charagua upon his death. And so the man died, and so the days passed and the Virgin remained hid in his home. Finally his wife too became ill. Cancer she had. Tests they did. Sick she was. And upon her deathbed, she brokered a deal – with the devil, no, with the Virgin, yes. What will make the Virgin heal me she asked herself. And thinking sometime, she remembered that the Virgin belonged to a little pueblo in the Bolivian Chaco. Virgin, she said, if you heal me I will take you back to your blessed Charagua in the Bolivian Chaco. Better she felt. Tests they did. Healed she was. And so the Virgin made her way back to Bolivia, back to Charagua and back to her little chapel. The people were so happy she’d survived the Great Chaco War that they made her a General and now she wears an army uniform, with the stars of a war hero. And the days passed, with the Charaguaños praying to their virgin and farming their little Chaco.

Many years she lived there contently, blessing the town and being adored. Her Charaguaño devotees adorned her with rings and necklaces of silver and gold. But one day another foreigner entered her chapel and robbed all her jewels. But this time the criminal dared not take the Virgin for himself, for he’d heard of the Paraguay debacle.


So the people built her a little glass hut where they could protect her and still adore her. And they made her prosthetic limbs, to replace her amputated legs. And so the days pass, with the Charaguaños praying to their virgin and farming their little Chaco.