Hundreds make Tortugas pilgrimage up ‘A’ Mountain

Hundreds of Catholics from all over the region made the pilgrimage up “A” Mountain in Las Cruces on Monday, honoring the Virgin Mary.

“It’s a sacrifice,” said Christina Marquez, who has made the journey for close to two decades. “As a reminder of all the sacrifices our Lord and our Virgin went through for us. So, just a reminder.”

At the top of the mountain, the bishop gave his blessing to those who had make the long trek up the mountain.

“It’s very emotional,” Marquez said. “It’s a very emotional journey.”

She was joined by plenty of children and older people of faith.

“It’s a formation of our faith to the Blessed Virgin Mary,” said Frances Gonzales. “She is so powerful. We pray for her a lot and she does a lot of miracles for our family.”

Monday’s high temperature was close to 60 degrees, making for a very pleasant hike.

“There have been some years where it’s been really icy, where you can slip, but we’ve been really lucky lately,” Gonzales said. “It’s really nice.”

“It’s very beautiful,” said Martha Estrada.

Many of the hikers walked with images of the Virgin Mary on their clothes or a cloth.

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“It gets me through the year,” Estrada said. “The promises that we make to her to get us through every year.”