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The Independent
05-08-2025
- The Independent
How one man's dream led to 50,000 pilgrims honoring Our Lady of Copacabana in Bolivia
More than 50,000 people from Bolivia and neighboring Peru make a pilgrimage every August to Copacabana, on the shores of Lake Titicaca, to honor Bolivia's patron saint, Our Lady of Copacabana. In the main event of the celebration, a replica of the wooden-carved figure of the Virgin Mary leads a procession. Her official feast is Feb. 2 — coinciding with Candlemas — but Aug. 5 marks the anniversary of her canonical coronation as the patron saint of Bolivia by a papal bull issued by Pius XII in 1925. This year is the 100th anniversary. 'She has granted me various miracles,' said Elizabet Valdivia, who traveled 12 hours by road and boat from the Peruvian city of Arequipa to join the procession. 'She gave us our car, the possibility of raising my son, and I always ask her to watch over our jobs.' The birth of a sacred icon Our Lady of Copacabana's basilica has safeguarded this Virgin Mary figure since the late 16th century. Her history dates back to 1583, when Inca descendant Francisco Tito Yupanqui crafted a figure in her honor. According to Marcela Cruz, a guide at the museum next to the basilica, Yupanqui had a dream about the Virgin and molded a clay figure to depict her. He showed it to the chaplain, but after being rejected and mocked, he went for a walk by the lake. 'There, he encountered the image of the Virgin as an Inca maiden,' Cruz said. 'That's why her image is so simple.' Inspired by the apparition, Yupanqui set off for the city of Potosí, about 330 miles (530 kilometers) from La Paz, the current capital city. There, he carved the image that is now revered in the basilica from a maguey tree trunk. When Yupanqui traveled back to Copacabana, the town was under Spanish occupation, and both the Aymara and Quechua Indigenous people — now nationals from Bolivia and Peru — were at the site for evangelization purposes. 'She arrived at dawn on Feb. 2, and both the Aymara and the Incas bowed down to welcome her,' Cruz said. A shrine of faith, gratitude and generations of prayer The museum named after Yupanqui displays hundreds of gifts that devotees have presented over the centuries. These include capes embroidered with gold thread, votive offerings, letters in braille and silver crowns resembling those Simón Bolívar melted down to secure Bolivian independence in 1825. 'Our Lady of Copacabana is the mother who welcomes all of her children regardless of their race or culture,' said Itamar Pesoa, a Franciscan friar residing at the convent adjacent to the basilica. 'Within Bolivia, she is the queen.' According to Pesoa, pilgrims travel from all over South America to present her with offerings. Some women who were unable to have children thank her for enabling them to become mothers. Others praise her for helping them recover from serious illnesses. Several Masses in her honor are celebrated daily starting Aug. 4. 'This devotion continues to be passed down from generation to generation and inspires many to follow Christ,' Pesoa said. Yupanqui's original figure has not left the basilica for a procession since her coronation in 1925, but devotees revere her replicas nonetheless. In a nearby chapel, parishioners light candles — one per miracle requested — and patiently wait for them to burn out before leaving. Sandra Benavides, who traveled from the Peruvian city of Cuzco, lit a candle and prayed for good health. She said some years ago she fell and the accident nearly killed her, but the Virgin interceded. 'Our Lady of Copacabana is miraculous,' Benavides said. 'She is as if she were my mother, whom I have never had.' ____ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Associated Press
05-08-2025
- General
- Associated Press
How one man's dream led to 50,000 pilgrims honoring Our Lady of Copacabana in Bolivia
COPACABANA, Bolivia (AP) — More than 50,000 people from Bolivia and neighboring Peru make a pilgrimage every August to Copacabana, on the shores of Lake Titicaca, to honor Bolivia's patron saint, Our Lady of Copacabana. In the main event of the celebration, a replica of the wooden-carved figure of the Virgin Mary leads a procession. Her official feast is Feb. 2 — coinciding with Candlemas — but Aug. 5 marks the anniversary of her canonical coronation as the patron saint of Bolivia by a papal bull issued by Pius XII in 1925. This year is the 100th anniversary. 'She has granted me various miracles,' said Elizabet Valdivia, who traveled 12 hours by road and boat from the Peruvian city of Arequipa to join the procession. 'She gave us our car, the possibility of raising my son, and I always ask her to watch over our jobs.' The birth of a sacred icon Our Lady of Copacabana's basilica has safeguarded this Virgin Mary figure since the late 16th century. Her history dates back to 1583, when Inca descendant Francisco Tito Yupanqui crafted a figure in her honor. According to Marcela Cruz, a guide at the museum next to the basilica, Yupanqui had a dream about the Virgin and molded a clay figure to depict her. He showed it to the chaplain, but after being rejected and mocked, he went for a walk by the lake. 'There, he encountered the image of the Virgin as an Inca maiden,' Cruz said. 'That's why her image is so simple.' Inspired by the apparition, Yupanqui set off for the city of Potosí, about 330 miles (530 kilometers) from La Paz, the current capital city. There, he carved the image that is now revered in the basilica from a maguey tree trunk. When Yupanqui traveled back to Copacabana, the town was under Spanish occupation, and both the Aymara and Quechua Indigenous people — now nationals from Bolivia and Peru — were at the site for evangelization purposes. 'She arrived at dawn on Feb. 2, and both the Aymara and the Incas bowed down to welcome her,' Cruz said. A shrine of faith, gratitude and generations of prayer The museum named after Yupanqui displays hundreds of gifts that devotees have presented over the centuries. These include capes embroidered with gold thread, votive offerings, letters in braille and silver crowns resembling those Simón Bolívar melted down to secure Bolivian independence in 1825. 'Our Lady of Copacabana is the mother who welcomes all of her children regardless of their race or culture,' said Itamar Pesoa, a Franciscan friar residing at the convent adjacent to the basilica. 'Within Bolivia, she is the queen.' According to Pesoa, pilgrims travel from all over South America to present her with offerings. Some women who were unable to have children thank her for enabling them to become mothers. Others praise her for helping them recover from serious illnesses. Several Masses in her honor are celebrated daily starting Aug. 4. 'This devotion continues to be passed down from generation to generation and inspires many to follow Christ,' Pesoa said. Yupanqui's original figure has not left the basilica for a procession since her coronation in 1925, but devotees revere her replicas nonetheless. In a nearby chapel, parishioners light candles — one per miracle requested — and patiently wait for them to burn out before leaving. Sandra Benavides, who traveled from the Peruvian city of Cuzco, lit a candle and prayed for good health. She said some years ago she fell and the accident nearly killed her, but the Virgin interceded. 'Our Lady of Copacabana is miraculous,' Benavides said. 'She is as if she were my mother, whom I have never had.' ____ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Washington Post
05-08-2025
- Washington Post
How one man's dream led to 50,000 pilgrims honoring Our Lady of Copacabana in Bolivia
COPACABANA, Bolivia — More than 50,000 people from Bolivia and neighboring Peru make a pilgrimage every August to Copacabana, on the shores of Lake Titicaca , to honor Bolivia's patron saint, Our Lady of Copacabana. In the main event of the celebration, a replica of the wooden-carved figure of the Virgin Mary leads a procession. Her official feast is Feb. 2 — coinciding with Candlemas — but Aug. 5 marks the anniversary of her canonical coronation as the patron saint of Bolivia by a papal bull issued by Pius XII in 1925. This year is the 100th anniversary. 'She has granted me various miracles,' said Elizabet Valdivia, who traveled 12 hours by road and boat from the Peruvian city of Arequipa to join the procession. 'She gave us our car, the possibility of raising my son, and I always ask her to watch over our jobs.' Our Lady of Copacabana's basilica has safeguarded this Virgin Mary figure since the late 16th century. Her history dates back to 1583, when Inca descendant Francisco Tito Yupanqui crafted a figure in her honor. According to Marcela Cruz, a guide at the museum next to the basilica, Yupanqui had a dream about the Virgin and molded a clay figure to depict her. He showed it to the chaplain, but after being rejected and mocked, he went for a walk by the lake. 'There, he encountered the image of the Virgin as an Inca maiden,' Cruz said. 'That's why her image is so simple.' Inspired by the apparition, Yupanqui set off for the city of Potosí, about 330 miles (530 kilometers) from La Paz, the current capital city. There, he carved the image that is now revered in the basilica from a maguey tree trunk. When Yupanqui traveled back to Copacabana, the town was under Spanish occupation, and both the Aymara and Quechua Indigenous people — now nationals from Bolivia and Peru — were at the site for evangelization purposes. 'She arrived at dawn on Feb. 2, and both the Aymara and the Incas bowed down to welcome her,' Cruz said. The museum named after Yupanqui displays hundreds of gifts that devotees have presented over the centuries. These include capes embroidered with gold thread, votive offerings, letters in braille and silver crowns resembling those Simón Bolívar melted down to secure Bolivian independence in 1825. 'Our Lady of Copacabana is the mother who welcomes all of her children regardless of their race or culture,' said Itamar Pesoa, a Franciscan friar residing at the convent adjacent to the basilica. 'Within Bolivia, she is the queen.' According to Pesoa, pilgrims travel from all over South America to present her with offerings. Some women who were unable to have children thank her for enabling them to become mothers. Others praise her for helping them recover from serious illnesses. Several Masses in her honor are celebrated daily starting Aug. 4. 'This devotion continues to be passed down from generation to generation and inspires many to follow Christ,' Pesoa said. Yupanqui's original figure has not left the basilica for a procession since her coronation in 1925, but devotees revere her replicas nonetheless. In a nearby chapel, parishioners light candles — one per miracle requested — and patiently wait for them to burn out before leaving. Sandra Benavides, who traveled from the Peruvian city of Cuzco, lit a candle and prayed for good health. She said some years ago she fell and the accident nearly killed her, but the Virgin interceded. 'Our Lady of Copacabana is miraculous,' Benavides said. 'She is as if she were my mother, whom I have never had.' ____ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Forbes
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘NYT Mini' Clues And Answers For Sunday, July 20
Mini Crossword Looking for the answers to Saturday's NYT Mini? Check them out here: The NYT Mini is a quick and dirty version of the newspaper's larger and long-running crossword. Most days, there are between three and five clues in each direction on a five by five grid, but the puzzles are sometimes larger, especially on Saturdays. Unlike its larger sibling, the NYT Mini crossword is free to play on the New York Times website or NYT Games app. However, you'll need an NYT Games subscription to access previous puzzles in the archives. The NYT Mini is a fun daily distraction that usually takes no time at all. I try to beat the standard weekday grid in less than a minute. But sometimes I can't quite figure out one or two clues and need to reveal the answer. To help you avoid doing that, here are the NYT Mini Crossword answers (spoilers lie ahead, of course): FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers ACROSS 1) The heart of summer? - EMS 4) Emotional request - PLEA 5) Word before aching or dancing - BELLY 6) Many fans of Premier League clubs - BRITS 7) Nacho topping that rhymes with 3-Down - QUESO DOWN 1) Leading role on "The Last of Us" - ELLIE 2) Gooey diner sandwiches - MELTS 3) Authoritative approval - SAYSO 4) Country on one side of Lake Titicaca - PERU 5) Orange-and-brown chip flavor, for short - BBQ Mini Genuinely a pretty tough puzzle today, as things just went in directions I was not expecting. I was looking for some sort of specific 'fan' word and it was just 'Brits' for six across. Authoritative approval is 'say so'? I mean I get it, but that was a tough guess to be sure. I enjoy the idea of the lead of The Last of Us being either Joel or Ellie, but when you have five letters, here you go. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Tiwanaku: Pre-Incan Civilization in the Andes
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Located near Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, the millennia-old city of Tiwanaku was built almost 13,000 feet (4,000 meters) above sea level, making it one of the highest urban centers ever constructed. Surrounded by mountains and hills, the city reached its peak between roughly A.D. 500 and 1000, growing to encompass an area of more than 2 square miles (6 square kilometers), organized in a grid plan. Only a small portion of the city has been excavated. Population estimates vary, but at its peak Tiwanaku may have had at least 10,000 people living in it. Although its inhabitants didn't develop a writing system and its ancient name is unknown, archaeological remains indicate that the city's cultural and political influence was felt across the southern Andes, stretching into modern-day Peru, Chile and Argentina. Today, with a modern-day town located nearby, Tiwanaku is a great ruin. "Massive, stone-faced earthen mounds rise from the plain; nearby are great rectangular platforms and sunken courts with beautiful cut-stone masonry," Denver Art Museum curator Margaret Young-Sánchez wrote in her book "Tiwanaku: Ancestors of the Inca" (University of Nebraska Press, 2004). Researchers aren't sure when Tiwanaku was first settled, but Young-Sánchez noted in her book that people in the Lake Titicaca area started settling permanently around 4,000 years ago. By this time, llamas (used as pack animals), alpacas (prized for their fur) and other camelids had been domesticated. In addition "farmers learned to cultivate hardy, frost-resistant crops like tubers and quinoa, watered by natural rainfall and water channeled from the mountain slopes," Young-Sánchez wrote. A millennium later, these adaptations had been enhanced by "raised-field agriculture" — a technique that "involves creating artificially raised planting mounds separated by canals of water," Young-Sánchez wrote. These adaptations helped usher in larger and more complex settlements, one of which, Tiwanaku, would come to dominate the region. In 2025, researchers announced they had found the stone ruins of a temple constructed by the Tiwanaku civilization. This temple, which archaeologists named Palaspata, is in Bolivia, about 130 miles (210 km) south of Tiwanaku. The terraced platform temple was large — about the size of a city block — and had interior rooms that surrounded an inner courtyard. It aligned with the solar equinox and was likely used for ceremonies, according to a study published in the journal Antiquity. Activity at the Palaspata temple thrived from about A.D. 630 to 950, according to radiocarbon dating of charcoal found at the site. The temple's strategic location linked together three trade routes, indicating that it likely connected people in the highlands to the north, the arid plateau to the west and the valleys to the east, the researchers wrote. The temple likely had religious connections, too, said José Capriles, an anthropological archaeologist at Penn State and lead author of the study. "Most economic and political transactions had to be mediated through divinity, because that would be a common language that would facilitate various individuals cooperating," he said in a statement. Archaeological excavations have revealed that the people of Tiwanaku "maintained a dense urban population residing in well-defined, spatially segregated neighborhoods, or barrios, bounded by massive adobe compound walls," Field Museum curator Patrick Ryan Williams and team noted in a 2006 journal article These "residential neighborhoods were characterized by multiple clusters of domestic structures (e.g., kitchens, sleeping quarters, storage facilities), some of which were apparently organized around a small private patio," the researchers added. Inhabitants of these clusters may have used larger, shared outdoor plazas for communal ceremonial events. Archaeologists have explored much of the city center, which contains a number of monumental structures. The area " was surrounded by an artificial moat," Young-Sánchez wrote. The area surrounded by the moat contains a number of structures that may have held religious significance. The earliest structure is likely the "Sunken Temple," a small building that is accessed via a staircase on the south, Vanderbilt University professor John Wayne Janusek wrote in his book "Ancient Tiwanaku" (Cambridge University Press, 2008). After descending the stairs, stone monoliths can be seen in the center of the room. They depict "what were most likely the more ancient and powerful mythical ancestors of the collective communities," Janusek wrote. The walls of the sunken temple are decorated with the images of god-like beings with expressionless faces and elaborate headdresses. Others look like "skulls with desiccated skin and sunken eye sockets, and still others appear to be wailing phantasms like the banshees of Irish lore," Janusek wrote. Adjacent to the Sunken Temple is a platform complex known as the "Kalasasaya," researchers Brian Bauer and Charles Stanish wrote in "Ritual and Pilgrimage in the Ancient Andes: The Islands of the Sun and the Moon," (University of Texas Press, 2001). An "artificial pyramid" known as the Akapana also resides in the area surrounded by the moat. This monument had six stone terraces, a massive 656 by 820 feet (200 by 250 m) base and was more than 54 feet (16.5 m) high, according to Bauer and Stanish's book. The Akapana dwarfed all other buildings at Tiwanaku and was likely a center of political and sacred power. When archaeologists excavated the northwest portion of the pyramid, they unearthed the skeletons of 21 people, who may have been from groups Tiwanaku conquered, according to Young-Sánchez's book. Several of the bones bear deep cut marks that suggest the bodies were hacked apart just before or soon after death, before being buried at the pyramid's base, according to the book. Outside of the moat area, and located to the southwest, is a massive, unfinished platform known as the Pumapunku (also spelled Puma Punku). The main platform was nearly 1,600 feet (488 m) wide and was covered with overlapping T-shaped terraces, according to Janusek's main entranceway was on the west side. "One moved up the stairway through stone portals, some covered with lintels carved as totora reed bundles and into a narrow, walled, passage" Janusek wrote. This passage then led to an "inner courtyard" with a "sunken paved patio." Janusek noted that water seems to have played a central role in the rites that took place on the platform. The Choquepacha spring, which is southwest of the structure, has stone conduits built around it. Around A.D. 1000, Tiwanaku fell into decline, and the city was eventually abandoned. It collapsed around the same time the Wari culture, based to the west in what is now Peru, also fell. The timing has led scientists to wonder whether environmental change in the Andes played a role in the collapse of both civilizations. But while Tiwanaku was abandoned, its memory lived on in the mythology of the people of the Andes. "Even after its abandonment, Tiwanaku continued to be an important religious site for the local people," s archaeologist Alexei Vranich wrote in an "Archaeology" magazine article. It later became incorporated into Inca mythology as the birthplace of humankind, Vranich wrote, and the Inca built their own structures alongside the ruins. Editor's note: this article was originally published on Feb. 1, 2013 and updated on July 3, 2025 to include information about the newfound Palaspata temple in Bolivia.
