But each year about a quarter-million visitors flood the town to celebrate the Virgin del Carmen, Chile’s national patron saint.

This year the first lady of Chile, Cecilia Morel de Piñera, Senator Fulvio Rossi (PS), and Senator Ximena Rincón (DC) journeyed north to attend La Tirana. Politicians and pilgrims could feast their eyes on the just-refurbished La Tirana Sanctuary, which plays host to the festivities from July 11 through 18.

Rossi has visited the festival more than 20 times, but the “cherished memories from his childhood going to La Tirana with his father” keep him coming back for more. Rossi said:

“It’s a marvelous event that mixes the momentum of our nation’s religions and admiration for the Virgin del Carmon with our diverse cultures and art. It’s shows us what it means to be Chilean. ”

During the festival, the historical village served more than a dash of modernity. According to an article in El Morrocotudo by Equipo El Boyaldía, prepping an 818-person town for a stampede of visitors involved a huge production. Over a thousand workers rolled up their sleeves to keep things going smoothly.  Ninety people started to pick up trash before the sun came up at 5:00 a.m.. Eleven tanks poured out nearly 2 million liters of water. Visitors could connect to the newly installed WIFI possibly to surf the net in order to learn about the ceremony’s history.

According to the pen of Peruvian historian Juan Rómulo Cúneo Vidal (1856-1931), a Portuguese adventurer, Vasco de Almeida, got turned around on his quest to find the mythical “Mine of the Sun” in the Tamarugal Desert. He stumbled upon the magnificently beautiful Incan princess Ñusta Huillac, also known as “La Tirana” for her despotism toward the Spanish. It was flechazo for the pair, a single word meaning “love at first sight.”

Their love was cut short when her father discovered the affair. Both were sentence to death. De Almeida convinced Huillac to be baptized into the Catholic Church because he believed it would eternally keep them together. Her father’s men found the pair mid-baptism and killed them with a rain of arrows.

Huillac and de Almeida are said to rest in the La Tirana Sanctuary. The town of La Tirana began to crop up around their burial site in the 17^th century.

Although the Roman Catholic Church claimed the Virgin del Carmen and is linked to the ceremony – made official by Archbishop José María in 1910 - its roots reach back to an Andean festival to honor Mother Earth. The festival presents a fusion of many religions Chile has to offer.  The preparations may have entered the 21^st century, but the dances and rituals stay true to tradition.