Candelaria: The Church the Devil Built

This is the church of Our Lady of Candelaria in Curarén, the largest municipality of our parish.  In fact, the area of Curarén is so large, that it hosts more than 40 of our parish’s 87 churches.

This church has a fascinating legend associated with it.  The story says that before the people of the pueblo of Curarén had a church, they were very poor.  The devil told them he would help them build a church for their community under one condition: they must destroy all roosters, because roosters are heralds of light, and the devil only likes darkness.  So, the people agreed and killed all their roosters.  That is, all the people followed directions except one old lady who hid her rooster under her bed. 

So, the devil helped the people build the church.  Unfortunately, when the sun came out in the morning, the old lady’s rooster began crowing.  This made the devil so angry that he kicked the side of the church.  Even today, the people can show you where the devil made a dent in the wall.

 The people of Curarén have a lot of spirit and are noted for their hospitality and colorful celebrations.  Each year, at the end of January and beginning of February, they hold a festival in honor of Our Lady of Candelaria.