Sarita Colonia

The location where Colonia was buried was designated with a wooden cross, causing it to become a gathering point for people grieving those without grave markers. As visitors came to her grave, answered prayers and miracles were attributed to her. Later, when the common grave was exhumed, Colonia's family relocated her remains.[6] A shrine was built on Colonia's burial site in 1983.[6] The shrine is made of concrete blocks,[7] and it features a tomb, an image of Colonia, and a place for lighting prayer candles. Flowers are often purchased by visitors before entering to deliver to the shrine.[8] Water from the tomb and from the flowers is often used for spiritual purposes, such as healing and cleansing.[9] Each year, two festivals are held for Colonia in her shrine: one for her birth in March, and one for her death in December.[10]

Colonia first became the subject of reverence in the 1960s and 1970s.[4] The increase of migrants to Lima during this time allowed reverence of Colonia to spread as they became her main adherents.[11] This generation of migrants convened around her grave, and her following spread throughout shanty towns. They used her grave as an alternative for orthodox religious practice, as she too had traveled to Lima to escape poverty.[12][13] This association has caused her to be seen as a patron saint for illegal immigration to the United States, and those crossing the Mexico–United States border sometimes wear her image to seek her protection.[12]

Colonia's grave was popularized as a place of worship for marginalized groups who were treated poorly in churches.[6] In addition to migrants, this group has grown to include the poor more generally, such as dockworkers, maids, bus drivers, and the unemployed,[14] as well as other outsider groups, such as criminals, sex workers, and members of the LGBT community.[7] Colonia's relatively uneventful life of poverty adds to this effect,[11] and the majority of her followers similarly come from poverty.[15] Due to her association with criminals and the poor, her followers have often been perceived negatively in Lima.[16] As bus and taxi drivers became common adherents, her image was often seen displayed in these vehicles during the 1970s and 1980s in Lima. The height of Colonia's religious following occurred in these years, when her grave had constant visitors.[17]

Colonia is also believed to protect thieves and prisoners, and some prisoners wear tattoos of her image for her alleged protection.[16] In 1994, police foiled a bank robbery plot by apprehending the culprits when they visited Colonia's shrine to pray for success.[15] Due to her association with prisoners, the local prison of Callao is sometimes known as Sarita Colonia.[17]

The Catholic Church has formally discouraged worship of Colonia,[18] though it became more accommodating after an increase in her popularity.[19] By the 21st century, Colonia's image was more widely accepted in Lima, and her status as a folk saint was institutionalized into the city's culture.[11] Her following remained steady in the early decades of the 21st century, still producing thousands of adherents during festivals but not growing in number.[20]

In her life, several miracles were attributed to Colonia by her family. She was alleged to have cured her younger sister's liver disease[21] and her father's brain injury.[22] Her brother said that she was inspired to seek a religious life by visions of Jesus Christ and Mary.[23] She is also said to have been rescued from a canal as a teenager by a divine man in a white tunic.[22]

Various folk tales have developed around Colonia's life, with different traditions developing between different demographics and groups of workers.[15] As she is commonly revered by the poor, many of these involve success in seeking work.[14] Later stories of her life emphasized her suffering and her generosity rather than miracles.[24] Many of these stories provide alternative accounts of her death. The most common is the belief that she died following a rape or an attempted rape, either committing suicide to protect her purity or being saved by God taking her to protect her.[25] The rapists in these stories are often figures of authority, such as police officers, or they play on racial stereotypes, portrayed as having darker skin while Colonia is portrayed as white.[26] In 1999, Colonia's brother wrote a biography with the stated purpose of correcting falsehoods that had been spread about her life.[27]