The Story of La Purísima and La Gritería
"The Spanish colonizers brought Catholicism and traditional religious celebrations to Central America. With fervor and piety, the native populations embraced Mary as their Patron Saint and church ceremonies were adopted and modified to mix with the native culture. There does not appear to be any one definitive history of how the veneration of Mary became a cultural custom in Nicaragua. The story is pieced together from a variety of explanations but tells us that the veneration of Mary began in 1562. Her image came to the village of El Viejo, carried by Pedro Alonso Sanchez de Zepeda y Ahumada, the brother of Saint Teresa of Avila, while traveling to Peru. Forced to remain while a tropical storm passed, he placed the statue of Mary in the local basilica. News of the image traveled through the region and many natives came see, pray, and worship the image. When Don Pedro departed, people traveled to the port to say goodbye to the beautiful image. A new storm forced his return, and the reappearance of the image of Mary was celebrated. Believing it was divine intervention that caused the return, the owner gifted the image to El Viejo.
La Gritería (the Shouting) began in 1857. Again, there are different versions of the beginnings. One version is that Monsignor Giordano Carranza recommended believers to shout the phrase "the purest conception of Maria!" from house to house throughout León. Another version is that on December 7, 1857, Monsignor Giordano Carranza asked La Purisima celebrants, "Quién causa tanta alegría?" (What causes this happiness?). The crowd of devotees simultaneously responded, "La Concepcion de Maria!" (The conception of Mary). As the tradition spread, composers wrote the songs of praise still popular today. Regardless of its origins, the celebration grew into a national festival where the cities and towns of Nicaragua complete to create the best and most altars. In one section of the country, the people travel by boat to visit altars built upon the lake's islands." - by Denese Neu - The Story of La Purisima and La Griteria: a Unique Nicaraguan Sacred Tradition
La Purisima means "the purest one" and celebrates the conception of the Blessed Mother. There are different versions of its origins. One is a story of a miraculous journey of an image traveling upriver and across a lake to women who pulled her from the water on December 7. Another version is associated with the city of León at the beginnings of the 18th century. The story is that monks of the San Francisco convent used candy and fruit to attract children and believers to come and sing to the image of the Virgin. They were quickly overwhelmed and expanded the celebrating, singing, and praying to people's houses where they were encouraged to set up private altars. The tradition spread to other towns and soon to the rest of Nicaragua.
