The first painting of the Crist of Miracles was drawn during the 17th century by the ‘Angolan’ enslaved Benito Dalcon, who painted Jesus in his own image. The celebration of this image during public processions occurs every October and has become one of the most popular Catholic traditions in Peru and Latin America. What started as an Afro-Peruvian devotion became increasingly popular among the Creole middle class in the 18th century after a series of earthquakes, which destroyed the city of Lima and much of the coast. Another name for the saint is the Lord of Earthquakes, as October is a month of frequent tremors. The historian Maria Rostorowski connected this fact with the God of Pachacamac, a pre-Incan culture, located south of Lima. His veneration was brought by people from that culture to Lima after it was founded by the Spanish conquistadores. So, the saint reflects African, European and pre-Columbian American traditions. One detail that I still need to check, is that the dancing for the saint reflects the dragging foot of a chained slave and the free foot of a liberated person.

The pope prayed, yet did not really dance, for el Señor de los Milagros in Lima today.