La Chiquinquirá Church, Minor basilica in Maracaibo, Venezuela.
La Chiquinquirá Church is a neoclassical basilica in central Maracaibo with three naves and two towers topped by white ribbed domes. Its pale yellow facade has a triangular pediment on four columns, statues in niches, and a round clock on the right tower. A framed painting inscribed "Salvación" hangs between the towers.
A mud-and-straw hermitage dedicated to Saint John of God was built here in 1686. After a wooden tablet bearing the Virgin's image was found by the lake in 1709, the shrine became a pilgrimage site; the present church was remodeled to its current form between 1921 and 1941. The image was crowned in 1942 with an 18-carat gold crown weighing 10 kg.
The feast of La Chinita on November 18 recalls the 1709 discovery of the restored tablet; the image was crowned in 1942 with an 18-karat gold crown weighing 10 kg. Since 2009 the Bajada de la Chinita has been held on the basilica's plaza on the last Saturday of October, lowering the Virgin down a 60-metre slide to the sound of gaita zuliana.
The basilica faces the Plaza Monumento a la Chinita, inaugurated in 2004 and designed by architect Alí Namazi, on the city centre's main axis. The image is lowered each last Saturday of October in a 60-metre slide on the basilica forecourt, drawing crowds; expect dense attendance around that date and 18 November. The main entrance opens through the central arch between the two towers.
The 18-carat gold crown used in the 1942 coronation weighs 10 kg. The rite was performed by Bishop Marcos Sergio Godoy, 25 years after Rome approved it, delayed by preparations, financial crisis and political turmoil.
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