The Mosquitoes of Santa Rosa is a story written by the Peruvian Ricardo Palma. It is part of a series of fictional stories with historical background that the author published for several years in different newspapers and magazines.
The set of these writings is known by the name of Peruvian Traditions. Ricardo Palma was born in Lima in 1833 and died in the same city in 1919. His Peruvian Traditions gave him great popularity, although he also published other types of books.
Ricardo Palma, Peruvian writer
Based on some events that appeared in archives and historical documentation, the Peruvian Traditions are written in simple language, so that they can be read by all types of public.
Influences of romanticism can be seen in his style, and he is also quite critical of institutions on some occasions.
Santa Rosa Mosquitoes
Within the Peruvian Traditions, Ricardo Palma dedicated some stories to Santa Rosa de Lima. This was a Peruvian mystic, very followed by locals in his time and today.
Her followers attribute a multitude of miracles to her and endow her with extraordinary abilities.
Among what is told about her is her story with the cockerel and, of course, that of the mosquitoes.
The latter belongs to the seventh series of traditions and was published in 1896, along with several other accounts.
Santa Rosa Mosquitoes Summary
Santa Rosa was attributed a special relationship with all kinds of animals, which respected and obeyed her in all her requests.
According to legend, the house in Santa Rosa had a kind of orchard, with puddles and ditches.
Naturally, this attracted a great multitude of mosquitoes, which did not stop pestering the mystic as she prayed.
When she decided to build a hermitage on those grounds, she came to terms with the pesky animals: she promised not to disturb them and they would do the same to her.
The agreement worked so well that it is said that, when Rosa gave her praises to God, the mosquitoes continued to give her a kind of concert with trumpets.
However, one day a friend of the Saint, Blessed Catalina, appeared in the garden. This one, which the mosquitoes did not respect, killed one with a slap.
At that moment Rosa imposes peace. Ask the blessed woman not to kill any of them again and the mosquitoes not to bite her friend again:
"Let them live, sister: do not kill me any of these poor people, that I offer you, they will not bite you again, but they will have the same peace and friendship with you that they have with me."
Different was the case of another blessed, Francisca Montoya. She did not even dare to approach the garden for fear of the multitude of mosquitoes that had settled there.
It seems that the Saint did not like such precautions, so she decided to send him a punishment. She chose three mosquitoes and asked them to go and bite the saint:
"Well, three will sting you now," Rosa told him, "one in the name of the Father, another in the name of the Son and another in the name of the Holy Spirit.
References
- Cervantes Virtual. The mosquitoes of Santa Rosa. Obtained from cervantesvirtual.com
- Wikipedia. Peruvian traditions. Obtained from es.wikipedia.org
- Compton, Merlin. Ricardo Palma's Latin American Historic and Folkloric Tales. Retrieved from toddmcompton.com
- The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. Ricardo Palma. Retrieved from britannica.com
- Your dictionary. Ricardo Palma Facts. Retrieved from biography.yourdictionary.com