Black Christ of Esquipulas

Pious legends claim the image was darkened due to Spanish missionaries who wished to convert the natives who worshiped pagan nebular deity "Ek-Kampulá" in the area.

Esquipulas holds its patronal festival on January 15, when the largest number of pilgrims come from Guatemala and neighboring Central American countries.

The Catholic hierarchy in Guatemala sought to increase its reach and to reinforce ideas that it symbolized a stance against leftists Juan José Arévalo and Jacobo Árbenz in the late 1940s and early 1950s who were considered socialists or communists.

"[5] On 11 January 2021 a tableau replica of the image in Mount Calvary (Sorrowful Virgin, Mary Magdalene, and St. John Apostle) were donated to Saint Joseph Cathedral of Antigua, Guatemala.

More than 30,000 motorcyclists, many masked and costumed, rode from Guatemala City on the 59th pilgrimage to honor the Black Christ of Esquipulas on February 1, 2020.