Saltenos (the people of Salta) consider it a miracle that the city has never been flattened by an earthquake which is why, so the story goes, that two images of Christ and the Virgin Mary are thought to be responsible for the city having been saved from the fate of others. Mendoza was destroyed in 1861 and San Juan in 1944, both in the northern Argentina.

The two religious icons were reputedly found in a box floating off the coast of Peru in the late 16th century. The Cristo was destined for Salta and the Virgin for Cordoba. However, they both ended up in Salta and were simply forgotten about until a century later in September 1692 when the city experienced a series of shakes. This is when Jose Carrion, a priest, decided to parade the Cristo through the streets hoping for a miracle. Shortly after, the tremors stopped. Also the Virgin, which had been left in the church, was found completely intact having fallen to the foot of the altar. So, since that day both have been paraded every year in what is undisputedly the city’s most important event, the Fiesta del Milagro.

The fiesta starts at the end of the first week of September and continues until the 15th of the same month when the icons are once again carried through the streets of Salta.