When I was very small, maybe about 5 years old, my parents took me to Santiago de Cuba to visit “El Cobre.”
Santiago de Cuba is about five hundred plus miles from the city of Havana. I remember it being a long and dusty car trip. But we got to stay in a hotel and eat at restaurants. This is pretty much all I can recall about the travel itself, but that’s not important right now.
In the hills above the city sits a beautiful basilica dedicated to Our Lady of Charity, so named because she was found bone dry on a wild, stormy sea by some fishermen. On her was a sign that read, “Yo soy La Virgen de La Caridad.” (Translated: “I am the Virgin of Charity.”)
Read the entire legendary thing right here.
Of course, Cubans always seem to familiarize the things they love. We call her “Cachita.” This particular version of Our Lady of Charity is the Patron Saint of Cuba and she has a presence in pretty much every Catholic Cuban home.
From our trip to El Cobre, we brought pieces of copper from the mines as souvenirs. And my mom got a little statue of Cachita to put up in our home. Since that point in time, Cachita has always lived in our family home in some iteration.
On September 8, 1961, having been in this country for just a few short months, our family went to pray at a mass alongside 30,oo0 other Cuban exiles for the peace of our homeland. The image of all those displaced families remains with me to this day. In Miami there’s a beautiful chapel dedicated to her and I know she still lives in lots of Cuban homes.
Here is my mom’s altar to Cachita.
I’m no longer a practicing Catholic (I’m an Evangelical Christian), so I don’t usually subscribe to Catholic images of saints. But there’s something about our Cuban Cachita.
I know it’s a childhood thing.
I know it’s a Cuban nostalgia thing.
I know it’s a cultural thing.
I know it’s definitely a Cuban thing.
Which makes her presence that much sweeter.
Happy Day!
Same here! I am also an evangelical homeschooling Christian but whenever I see Cachita it reminds me of growing up in Miami. You drove by houses in Hialeah and there wasn’t a blade of grass to be found, everything was cemented lol…. BUT there was always a statue in the front yard and so you knew Cubans lived there lol…Very comforting! There is a lots of grass here in NC…. so when a lady stopped me at the pool last week and asked me if I was Cuban because she is Cuban and she can spot another one a mile away, it made me very happy!! Thanks for all your post! Norma
I have a statue of “Cachita” in my home. I know when I finally return to visit Cuba I will make a pilgrimage to “El Cobre” and say a prayer to our virgencita in person.
I love this post! It made me reminisce about growing up in Miami. I still remember the first time my mom took us to Ermita De La Caridad. At the time, the story didn’t resonate with me. But the moment we pulled up to the shrine I felt an overwhelming sense of awe and respect.I now live in Hawaii and I’m not sure I could find a Cachita here, but I’m sure going to try now!
I am a practicing Catholic and have been all my life. I have had a picture of La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre for about 20 years now. I have the picture on a pedastal and I light a candle for her EVERY day. I have in many ocassions prayed to her and she has helped me many times. On her feast day which is September 8, I went to the mass celebration which took place at the Bank United Center at the University of Miami. It was packed to capacity with mainly Cuban followers and when they took out the statue in the procession I could not hold back my tears. It was very emotional to see so many people waving Cuban flags, rosaries and honoring the mother of God as Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre, patroness of Cuba. Yes, I also call her “mi Cachita” and I love her more than words can say.
Amen…Faustino Rodriguez..We are so privileged to pay homage to OurMother. And to trust in her intercetion…We must remember ‘through Mary to Jesus’ . After all it was she who carried our Savior until his birth and also suffered with Him while he was on the cross. ..Feliz Cumpleanos nuestra Cachita…
If we love la Cachita, it is not just because she reminds us of Cuba. She is Our Blessed Mother who continually helps us from heaven. She smiles when we honor her and her Child, when we pray devoutly and receive the gift of the sacraments, when we do penance for our sins and the sins of the world. However she cries when we ignore her beautiful Son, when we reject Him in the Holy Eucharist, when we leave the one, true Church that He founded. O Cachita, your Son shares you with us to bless and guide us. Your Son shares you with us so you can make us little Jesuses. O Cachita, don’t forget us, even if we, in our busyness and worldliness, forget you.