Every year, shortly after sunset on December 7, families gather in front of the Santo Domingo church, and light more than 5000 lanterns in honor of the Our Lady of the Rosary. This is the 88th anniversary of the coronation of the “Morencia Virgin of the Rosary” as the patron saint of Cuenca (our city) and Azuay (our province). At 6:30PM, families light candles or cigarette lighters, then proceed to light the lanterns on the ground. Families enjoy shooting photos of their children in the candlelight.

This event is sponsored by the Order of Preachers, of the Catholic Church, but is also intended to help bring tourism to Cuenca. The lanterns are all laid out in a pattern resembling the crown on the statue of the Virgin of the Rosary, seen upper-image as she is brought out of the church to preside over the evening’s activities.

Several of the neighboring buildings have already put out their Christmas decorations (Grinch, lower-right). As the sunset approaches (bottom-center), decorative lights start to play over the front of the church.

Pedro Palacios, the mayor of Cuenca and his wife were there to help with the ceremony (upper-left) and posed for photos with many members of their constituency . All events like this attract food vendors (lower-right), so there is always plenty to snack on while waiting. As always though, it is the families, often with young children that are the most entertaining to watch.

After all the candles had been lit, we walked home. The Santo Dominique church, where this event occurred, is in the old part of town, called “el Centro,” which is also the section we live in. This is a very walkable part of the city, and as we walked home, we again passed the iconic domes of the New Cathedral in the very center of Cuenca.