Procession a Peruvian tradition

By Macollvie Jean-François
Staff Writer
Posted October 23 2005

For their faith, believers were blessed with a dry night, lighted by 12-foot mural of El Señor de los Milagros on a board decorated with candles, lamps and flowers.

"People need to stay very close to God," a grateful Elda St. Germaine said.

Warnings of Hurricane Wilma made them nervous, but to some, the storm's slow trek to South Florida is a miracle.

"We have to keep doing what we do every year," said Raul Marroquin, a member of the church and of the Hermandad del Señor de los Milagros con Sede en Broward (The Broward chapter of the Brotherhood of the Lord of Miracles), which organizes the 23-year-old event. "It's our tradition."

So under an overcast sky, about 900 faithful Catholics attended the Mass and marched around the parking lot of San Isidro pm Saturday evening, chanting prayers of supplication and of jubilation.

The procession was not exactly the same as the days-long affair that takes over Lima with millions of marchers every October, sometimes involving a 50-mile hike. But the faith of Peruvians in South Florida is as strong as that of those at home.

"In every place Peruvians go, we always get together to have a Brotherhood," said Pedro Villanueva, a past president of the organization and a reader at Saturday's Mass. "It's an opportunity to share our faith and also to help each other in any way or means."

Groups of men in purple robes carrying the mural and women walking backwards in front of the mural led the procession. Peruvian folk music belted out of loudspeakers,and clouds of incense wafted into the sky.

Members of the Brotherhood gather each Thursday to plan the procession, the highlight of the year for many believers, Marroquin said. They raise money and train members to carry the image properly, among other activities.

More than 10,000 Peruvians live in Broward County, according to adjusted census figures.

The mural used in the Broward procession is a copy of the mural that remains in Lima's Church of the Nazarene, which was built around it after the earthquakes. Painted by an African slave in the 1650s, the mural signifies the Holy Trinity, Villanueva said, and represents the patron saint of Lima.

Though it may seem strange to other cultures, Percy Mayta, a Hermandad member, said: "Jesus shows up in many ways. This is one way to show the faith of people in my country, in his image. Finding a way to show your faith, that's the main thing."

Macollvie Jean-François may be reached at mjfrancois@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4694.

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