Hundreds of Nicaraguans marked the Dec. 8 feast of the Immaculate Conception in Miami with “gritería” celebrations, singing in praise of the Virgin Mary at flower-and-light-filled altars set up both in church parking lots and in the back of vehicles. The gatherings drew large crowds as participants said the timing felt especially poignant amid crackdowns on religion in Nicaragua and pressure facing immigrant communities in the United States.
One of the altar setups Saturday night belonged to Neri Flores, who traveled from Chicago with his parents to set up a vigil altar. Flores said, “We’re going to do it no matter what,” and described the celebration as tradition, family, giving back to the community, keeping up the faith and “positive vibes.”
Some altars carried family history as well as devotion. In the back of a rental SUV near a Catholic church, Flores’ family placed a painting of the Immaculate Conception at the center of their altar. The article said Flores’ mother brought the painting across the U.S.-Mexican border when she was pregnant with him in the early 1980s.
Another family altar included multiple statues of the Virgin Mary, with four generations helping. Michael Garcia, who was born in Miami, said his grandmother brought one of the statues when she fled Nicaragua, and he added, “For the Virgin, there is no impossible.”
At St. John Bosco Catholic Parish in Miami, the article said more than a thousand people lined up Sunday evening to sing and pray by altars in the church parking lot and along a major thoroughfare outside the church. The parish is home to about 3,000 member families, most of whom are from Nicaragua and Honduras, and many are undocumented.
Rev. Yader Centeno, the pastor of St. John Bosco, said the event is “all about a gesture of trust.” He said it is “a moment to strengthen their faith” and a way to share a message with people back in Nicaragua that “here, we are free.”
The altars varied in scale and design, including some with balloon arches, twinkling strings of lights and large sound systems, and others with smaller statues framed by palm fronds in the backs of cars. As visitors reached each altar, the crowd erupted in the traditional “grito,” with some wearing T-shirts carrying Spanish for “Who causes so much joy? Mary’s conception!” Families and groups that built the displays donated toys, traditional food such as yucca and chicharrones, and religious souvenirs including rosaries, with many plans set to serve at least 500 people.
On Sunday’s Mass near St. Agatha Catholic Parish on the outskirts of Miami, hundreds attended or watched a livestream, according to the article. Rev. Silvio Báez, auxiliary bishop of Managua, urged attendees to speak out against those who use faith to oppress the vulnerable and those who bow before worldly powers. Before leading the congregation in the traditional “grito” to Mary, Báez said, “The Virgin is not going to forget our people and one day, Nicaragua will be free.”
The article said Báez left Nicaragua in 2019 after the late Pope Francis told him he should do so to save his life. It said Báez has since resumed delivering sermons in Miami Masses.
At St. Agatha, Rev. Marcos Somarriba, the pastor, said conditions for the faithful in Nicaragua remain dire. Somarriba said people must have the government’s permission to set up altars and that certain traditional colors are forbidden. He also urged U.S. officials to understand the situation for people persecuted in countries including Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela, and said the U.S. government should take clear measures to protect Nicaraguans who came after losing their homeland.
Near St. John Bosco, Oscar Carballo visited multiple altars, singing to the Virgin. The article said Carballo persuaded relatives who had hesitated to come out because of rumors on social media about immigration enforcement, and he told the crowd, “Here you feel like in the patio of your home.” Carballo said he asks the Virgin so his family can stay and so there might be peace “everywhere.”