A distant Virgin in her altar niche, Sanctuary of El Cobre (left); upper half of mural in Miami altar (right).

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Like the Virgin of Charity's image in the Sanctuary of El Cobre, the modern replica of the Virgin in the Miami hermitage's altar is enclosed in a glass case and illuminated with a glowing light. The Miami effigy, however, is physically closer and seems more accesible to the public than her distantly enshrined counterpart in El Cobre. The modern replica rests in a simple platform that simulates the board in which she was allegedly found floating in the water. The small effigy seems to be inside the mural's canoe with the three fishemen who found it in Nipe Bay.

The mural entitled "The History of Cuba at a Glance," a veritable example of artistic kitsch, was painted by Teok Carrasco in 1973 and represents one version of the island's history. Spinning around the central mythical episode of the Virgin's apparition are fourty-four (mostly male and racially invisible) 19th century "major figures" of the island's history.

The theme of the Virgin as Christian Mother of the Cuban nation surrounded by her devoted patriot sons is evident. The visual text intertwines ecclesiastic and secular historical figures in a conservative and conventional "great men" approach to history that does not dare venture much into the controversial 20th century. In place of the traditional function of religious art in the walls of temples of imparting religious instruction, the mural in this hermitage openly blurs the boundaries between secular and ecclesiastical national history.