A Gift of Gracias (4 page)
Quisqueya hung the blanket with the lady’s picture from an orange bough.
By the light of the twinkling stars on the robe of Altagracia, María and her family picked all the oranges that night.
“
Gracias
, Altagracia,” a tired María whispered. She took down the beautiful picture and draped it over her arm. From now on, Altagracia would always be by her side.
As María headed down the dark path, the stars on Our Lady’s robe lighted her way.
Many people are devoted to an image of the Virgin Mary as she has appeared in their homeland: Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, Our Lady of Fátima in Portugal, Our Lady of Caridad in Cuba.
In the Dominican Republic, my native country, our special little virgin, or
virgencita
, is Our Lady of Altagracia (al-ta-GRA-see-ah). Legend says she appeared in the early 1500s, when the whole island was still a colony of Spain. So beloved is she that her saint’s day, January 21, is a national holiday. I was named Julia Altagracia, and so when I was a little girl, my family would tell me the legend of Altagracia. What I have written is based on those stories.
Along with the story, my mother told me how the
virgencita
picture disappeared from the little girl’s house and was found hanging from an orange bough. The family understood that the
virgencita
preferred the orchard, so a chapel was built for her among the orange trees. Pilgrims from all over the country visit her there. In fact, before I started writing this story, I traveled to the chapel in what is now the town of Higüey (ee-GWAY) to ask for her special help.
Just like me, many little girls in the Dominican Republic are named after Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia, a name that means Our Lady of High Grace, or simply, Our Lady of Thanks. As for the old Indian Quisqueya (kees-KAY-yah), that is the name the Taino Indians gave the island before the Spaniards renamed it Hispaniola, or Little Spain. Quisqueya means
La madre de la tierra
, Mother of the Earth. The native Tainos saw their own powerful Mother of the Earth in the image of Our Lady of Altagracia. Many farmers in the Dominican Republic are especially attached to Our Lady of Altagracia because of her connection with the land.
So, you see, whether you are Dominican or not, Our Lady of Thanks, like Mother Earth, really belongs to all of us.
JULIA ALVAREZ
was given Altagracia as her middle name when she was born. She grew up in the Dominican Republic hearing the stories of the wonders Our Lady of Altagracia worked, and she based this book on those spellbinding tales. Ms. Alvarez’s other books for children include
Finding Miracles; Before We Were Free,
winner of the Pura Belpré Award and the Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature;
How Tía Lola Came to
Visit
Stay
, a Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee; and
The Secret Footprints
, a picture book illustrated by Fabian Negrin. She is also the author of
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, In the Time of the Butterflies
, and
¡Yo!
Julia Alvarez is a writer-in-residence at Middlebury College and lives with her husband in Vermont.
BEATRIZ VIDAL
used a magnifying glass and small brushes in gouache to bring the legend of Altagracia to life. She was born in Argentina and is the author-illustrator of
Federico and the Magi’s Gift
and the illustrator of
A Library for Juana
by Pat Mora and
The Legend of El Dorado
and
Rainbow Crow
, both by Nancy Van Laan. Her artwork has appeared on several PBS programs and on UNICEF cards.
Beatriz Vidal lives in New York City and frequently spends time in Buenos Aires and Paris.