Difunta Correa
Difunta Correa (the late Correa, actually María Antonia Deolinda y Correa ) (* 18th century or 19th century; † 1841) was a woman who allegedly died of thirst in 1841 while looking for her husband in the Argentine desert . However, thanks to the mother's milk, her child had not died; it lay suckling on the dead mother's breast.
Content of the legend
When Maria Antonia Deolinda y Correa went into the desert with her baby in 1841, civil war raged in Argentina. Shortly after her birth, her husband was abducted by Spanish soldiers. In her desperation, she wanted to follow the kidnapped man through the desert and set off. Days later, a group of muleteers found the Correa dead in the desert. The child had miraculously survived. Thanks to the mother's milk , she did not die of thirst.
Meaning and pilgrimage
The mother's body was buried by the gauchos (Argentine cowherds) on a nearby hill. Her grave is now a famous pilgrimage site near Vallecito . Every Argentine should visit him at least once in a lifetime. It is especially venerated by truck drivers as it is the patron saint of travelers. Often in Argentina one can find small shrines of the Difunta, where the believing drivers stop who travel alone through the great country.
The worship of the Difunta Correa is based on popular belief and is without ecclesiastical recognition, which does not prevent the Argentines from making a pilgrimage by the thousands, on certain days even by the hundreds of thousands (e.g. at Easter) to Vallecito and leaving water bottles there for those who have died of thirst . In legend, María embodies the ideal image of women: that of a faithful woman who follows her beloved husband, and that of the self-sacrificing mother.
See also
- Gauchito Gil , an Argentine folk saint of comparable fame
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Correa, Difunta |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Deolinda y Correa, María Antonia (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Argentine legend |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 18th century or 19th century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1841 |
| Place of death | Argentine desert |