This statue of the Virgin Mary stands four feet tall, is made of plaster and maguey fiber, and was created by Francisco Tito Yupanqui.
Except for the face and hands, it is covered in gold leaf, dressed like an Inca princess, and has jewels on her neck, hands and ears.
There is no record of what the image looks like under the robes, the carved hair has been covered my a wig, and the image never leaves the basilica.
On 21 February1583 it was enthroned in an adobe church on the peninsula of Copacabana, which juts into Lake Titicaca nearly 3 miles above sea level.
In 1669 the viceroy of Peru added a straw basket and baton to the statue, which she still holds today.
Its present shrine dates from 1805.
The image was crowned during the reign of Pope Pius XI, and its sanctuary was promoted to a basilica in 1949.
It has been the recipient of many expensive gifts over the years, most of which were looted by civil authorities in need of quick cash.
![[Our Lady of Copacabana stamp]](mary0008.jpg "??kb jpg detail from a 1988 Bolivian postage stamp, artist unknown; please do not write to ask about the image")
La Coyeta