Wonderful statue of Our Lady Aparecida, protector of Brazil. The story of Our Lady of Aparecida begins in 1717, when it became known that the Count of Assumar, Don Pedro of Almeida and Portugal, governor of the Province of São Paulo and Minas Gerais, would stop in the village of Guaratinguetá, during his journey towards Vila Rica, today's Ouro Preto in Minas Gerais.
For this occasion, some fishermen were instructed to supply the fish for the banquet to be held the next day, on the occasion of the count's visit. Three fishermen, Domingos Garcia, Filipe Pedroso and João Alves, went fishing in the Paraíba river. After some unsuccessful attempts, they threw their nets into an area called Porto Itaguaçu.
According to tradition, João Alves found in his net a statue of the Madonna, without the head. He threw the net again and this time he found the head of the statue. Later the three fishermen threw the nets again and these would be filled with fish.
For 15 years the statue remained in the home of Filipe Pedroso, where the neighbors gathered to pray the rosary. The devotion began to spread: some faithful, who had prayed before the statue, claimed to have received graces. The cult spread throughout Brazil. It is celebrated on October 12th. In the Afro-Brazilian tradition it comes to represent one of the manifestations of the orixà Oxum (Oxum Apara).