26 EL NEGRITO (The Negro/La Negrita de Cartago, Patron Saint of Costa Rica) by artist Pamela Enriquez-Courts

Metallic Acrylic on Canvas w/Brushed Gold Frame, 9 x 12”

In 1635, a young native girl found a mysterious black rock with the image of a woman and child engraved upon it.
The girl took the black rock home and put it with her toys.
The next day the rock appeared in the original place where the girl had found it.
This happened three times.
The girl took the black rock to her Priest where he took the rock back to the church only to find that the black rock kept appearing in the original place where it had been found.

The Priest believed that the image of the woman was the Virgin Mary and the child was the Baby Jesus. He understood the significance of the statue returning to the same spot where it was found and petitioned the Church leaders to build a Church in the place.
The Church was built and named The Basilica of the Lady of the Angels.
The black rock with the image of Mary and Jesus stands as a symbol of faith where people come from around the world to pray for miracles.

The purple flowers I’ve painted that surround La Negrita are the official flower of Costa Rica named Guaria Morada (the purple flower girl) and they are from the orchid family.

Also shown here is the original Don Clemente Gallo card for EL NEGRITO.

The riddle associated with this image:
El que se comió el azúcar.
The one who ate the sugar.