Mark Schmidt on Syncretism in Peru: La Hermandad del Señor de los Milagros

By: Mark Schmidt

December 7, 2010

Paige Lovejoy'’s intelligent analysis was not my first encounter with the Señor de los Milagros, but it certainly made much more sense than my first meeting. La Hermandad del Señor de los Milagros, –the Brotherhood of Our Lord of Miracles,– is a staple of the Peruvian community and a fascinating example of syncretism—the fusion of indigenous beliefs with Catholic dogma following the Conquista. Moreover, the brotherhood currently flourishes amongst the Peruvian immigrant community in Chile–—a community that receives, at best, curt tolerance from your average Chilean.

The Santiago chapter of the brotherhood actually resides at my local parish in Santiago, Our Lady of Pompeii, a church specially dedicated to helping and welcoming immigrants. Although the parish originally served the Italian community which immigrated to Chile during the nineteenth century, today the church serves an increasingly diverse group of Latin American immigrants, and especially Peruvians, who are drawn to the career prospects in Chile.

Last weekend, as I was walking back to my house near the city center, I was shocked to find one of downtown’'s busiest thoroughfares restricted to only one lane: what, I thought to myself, could possibly be going on? From a distance, given the jumble of car horns, police, traffic cones, and smoke, I surmised that yet another car crash had taken place at the intersection ahead. But then I smelled the smoke—sure enough, it was incense, drifting hundreds of feet down the street. After a few hundred yards of walking, carefully navigating through throngs of Peruvian migrants, I finally caught sight of the formal procession.

A giant gilt painting of the crucified Christ had been mounted on a resplendent chrome altar, which in turn was covered in ornate gold candles held up by silver cherubim. Flowers in glass vases covered every square inch of the altar, itself a cube of six feet wide. What'’s more, this enormous altar was slowly, haltingly carried on the shoulders of 10 Peruvian immigrant men in bright purple robes. In front of the altar, 20 women in similar garb burned incense from massive silver torches, so that fragrance wafted in a thick cloud over the entire procession. Behind the altar, dozens of trombones and drums played a solemn march as the women chanted prayers. Peruvian immigrants – praying or chatting, by themselves or with their children, followed behind, along with several preachers with portable speakers, so that the gospel could be heard over the constant hum of oncoming traffic—and the cacophony of angry car horns.

The anger and frustration visible on the faces of countless Chilean passers-by elegantly summarized the relationship between the Peruvian and Chilean communities here. Much like the frustrated drivers honking even after they realized the religious nature of the procession, Chileans generally do not welcome Peruvians, even though their cultures and traditions are remarkably similar. Instead, the Peruvians' mere presence is viewed as an inconvenience, in spite of the increasingly integral role they play in Chile’'s economy and in the Chilean Catholic Church.

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