Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Regla

As important as it is diminutive, the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Regla, which lies just behind the boat dock in the municipality of Regla, has a long and colorful history. Inside on the main altar you’ll find La Santísima Virgen de Regla, a black Madonna venerated in the Catholic faith and associated in the Santería religion with Yemayá, the orisha (spirit) of the ocean and the patron of sailors (always represented in blue). Legend claims that this image was carved by St Augustine ‘The African’ in the 5th century, and that in the year AD 453 a disciple brought the statue to Spain to safeguard it from barbarians. The small vessel in which the image was traveling survived a storm in the Strait of Gibraltar, so the figure was recognized as the patron of sailors. These days, rafters attempting to reach the US also evoke the protection of the Black Virgin.