Chile travel: Festival Virgen del Carmen in La Tirana

As you travel across Chile, you will be immersed in this country’s fascinating culture, filled with legends and stories mixing ancient traditions and religion. One of the many intriguing legends of this country lays in La Tirana, a small village near Iquique, in the north of Chile, famous for its celebration of the Virgen del Carmen on July 16th.



A fascinating combination of Andean traditions and Catholicism, the legend of La Tirana says that when Diego de Almagro, a Spanish conquistador, made the first Spanish foray in Chile, he chose an Inca princess as one of his companions. However, this princess is believed to have been a fierce warrior who loathed the invader and everything that had to do with the Spanish. She is said to have escaped into the pampa, from where she launched a raging war against the conquerors, and was soon to be known as "La Tirana", or the tyrant.



La Tirana’s guerilla was put to an end when she fell in love with Vasco de Almeyda, a Portuguese soldier enlisted by the Spanish, who is convinced her to convert to Catholicism. When her war companions discovered her betrayal, they killed both the Inca princess and her lover. According to the legend, a missionary priest who came to the area to evangelize years later, discovered a cross standing on the spot where the couple had died, and decided to build a church there.



The celebrations that take place in La Tirana every year straddle the line between commercialization and devotion. Thousands of pilgrims journey each year to participate in the week long celebration, as well as many merrymakers, who just want to be part of the fiesta. During the festivities, the village is overflows with visitors and street vendors, who travel from all over Chile to sell their goods here. The streets are also filled with religious dancers and their brass bands, coming sometimes from as far as Peru or Argentina to pay homage to the Virgen del Carmen. Cheerful chaos characterizes this hybrid celebration, mixing traditions with roots in paganism and Christianism alike.



This guide to the Festival Virgen del Carmen in La Tirana was written by an Chile travel expert at Chile For Less available to help you custom design your exciting Chile travel adventures.