Devotional and religious practices: Aprproaches to the Marian phenomenon of the Virgin of Itati in Northeast Argentina

Abstract

The present work analyze the meanings and management practices of a pilgrim commission in Villa Turistica, Paso de la Patria Corrientes (Argentina) having as its epicenter the Pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Itati, province of Corrientes. This religious-cultural manifestation has the particularity that three towns participate (Paso de la Patria, Santa Ana and San Cosme) and that is carried out in a traditional way since the year 1900. The study focuses on the management of this local Pilgrim Commission through four dimensions: organisational, administrative, community and religious. As results, from the organizational dimension, it is observed that, although a hierarchical structure is proposed, it develops horizontally. From the administrative point of view, there is evidence of an emerging planning according to immediate needs. From the community, an extensive network of relationships is observed to obtain resources. And, from the religious point of view, the mixture of the old and the modern stands out. What remains is the religious meaning of the pilgrimage that unites families and gives them a certain identity that the town tries to preserve.