A hacienda manor house made of oak and a pilgrimage with a procession represent two very different aspects of Llano Grande. For planning your trip, the difference in timing is especially useful: the pilgrimage takes place during a particular season, while Retes brings together architectural history and archaeology. You can first decide whether a specific celebration date or the historical context should be the focus of your stay.

Pilgrimage in the Barrio Los Ángeles

The annual pilgrimage brings people together at a small shrine in the Barrio Los Ángeles, where it takes place. It runs from the third week of April to May 16. If you want to travel to Llano Grande for this tradition, confirm the dates and current arrangements locally for your chosen year before finalizing your stay. During the procession, the image of the Virgen de Los Ángeles is carried on a platform through the main streets and past cultivated areas, fincas, and local institutions.

During the celebration, aguadulce, coffee, gallos with potato or chayote picadillo, bizcocho, bread, and rice pudding are prepared for the pilgrims. These foods are associated with the occasion and with providing for the pilgrims. In this way, the pilgrimage combines its religious context with a procession and a distinct culinary tradition.

Hacienda and Retes Manor House

In Llano Grande de Cartago, Hacienda Retes is home to a manor house built around 1870 by Dr. Eusebio Figueroa Oreamuno. Figueroa was a lawyer and politician. The manor house was handcrafted from oak from the hacienda; its main structure was built without nails. The origin of the material and the construction method complement one another without describing the same thing: the oak came from the hacienda, while the absence of nails applies to the construction of the main section. The date of around 1870 places this architecture in a different historical period from the Retes archaeological site.

Archaeological History of Retes

The Retes archaeological site was accidentally discovered in February 1952 on the hacienda of the same name. Among the wooden objects recovered at Retes in 1952 were slit drums. The site developed during the late pre-Columbian period, from 800 to 1500 AD. These dates refer to different things: 1952 marks the accidental discovery and the recovered objects, while the period from 800 to 1500 AD places the site in its archaeological context. This distinction helps separate the history of its discovery from its archaeological dating. Slit drums are musical instruments.

Those primarily interested in history can distinguish between the manor house dating to around 1870 and the archaeological period from 800 to 1500 AD.

Discover more destinations: Verbena Norte, Patio de Agua, Concepción, Cartago, Cachí, Cipreses, Tres De Junio, Corralillo

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