There is in Oruro a mystic cult for the Virgin, with a clearly religious identification, and by mean of  the idolatrous devil, with a pagan identification.

At the present time la Virgen del Socavón, is part of the same life of the historical old tradition of Oruro, exalted as Crowned Queen of the religiosity and our nationality.

Chiru-Chiru

In 1925 the Oruro's poet  José Victor Zaconeta, published in its book "Odes and Poems", under the title of "La Virgen del Socavón y la corte infernal", the story of the legend of the chiru-chiru. A thief whose identity is unknown that he had made its den to the foot of the silver mountain "Pie de Gallo"

Those that knew to the chiru-chiru, Zaconeta says, and they ignored the bad arts to that he was devoted, they considered him like to a beggar or like a inoffensive poor person... he on the other hand, he has enough ability to sell in a remote neighborhood of the new city of Oruro, what he stole in another.

Chiru-chiru that had been a big devote of Candelaria' virgin, in the mark of their habitual forays, it was hurt deadly by a some guy, when in unfortunate night it was about stealing him their belongings. However and using of their strength, badly hurt by his victim camp escaped, falling then dying in the outskirts of the small city.

The Virgin went in his help and she drove him slowly to his den, attending him kindly and picking up of thief's lips, together with his regrets, the sincere gratitude of his blessings.

The neighborhood of the village, noticing the disappearance of the chiru-chiru, they went timidly to the den, finding him dead on their wretch and vile rough old bed, and in their head a surprising and wonderful image, almost of natural size, of Candelaria' Virgin, with their beautiful boy.

Starting from this episode, that place transformed into a center of permanent pilgrimage, until our days.

Zaconeta concludes, attributing to the miners of the area, the adoption of the following agreements: That mine would call herself from now on "Socavon de la Virgen", should be honored it annually during three days starting from Saturday of Carnival.

To diffuse this unanimous agreement in the whole jurisdiction and to compose songs and carols in praise of the image, and that is important "to honor their sublime Virgen properly, all the miners would in fact masquerade of devils."

This finishes, it became because the miners always had ingrained and ancestral feelings, that the "tio" - that is the equivalent of the devil - it intervenes in the success or in the failure you their works in the underground; for that resson they model with mud or the clay, a satan representation, placing it in the favorite cracks of the mining places, to surrender it homage with lit veins of suet, chewings of coca and licór libations; and invocations songs and periodic challas with sacrifices of young lamas, well-known as "convidos a la Pachamama", "tables" and "wilanchas."