Our Lady of Altagracia or Virgin of Altagracia is a Marian devotion best known for being the protector of the Dominican people . ^1 ​2​ Her feast day is January 21, a non-working day in the Dominican Republic in which many faithful devotees of the Virgin come from all over Latin America to her sanctuary in the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Altagracia , in Higüey , La Altagracia province . Her devotion is also highlighted in the Dominican diaspora, as in New York City , where her patronal feast is also the beginning of Dominican Heritage Month. 3

This devotion has its origins in Extremadura , Spain . The Virgin of Altagracia is venerated in two towns in Extremadura, each with its own tradition and hermitage: Garrovillas de Alconétar , in the province of Cáceres , and Siruela , in the province of Badajoz .

The medieval tradition of Garrovillas tells of a humble shepherdess who was grazing her flock in the Villoluengo pasture when she saw on a rock a slender figure of a woman, covered in a black cloak and with a shining halo on her beautiful crowned head, sliding the beads of a magnificent rosary between her divine fingers.

The image, visible only to the girl, could never be seen by her parents; but after her repeated manifestations, they dug under the rock, finding the image that is venerated today under the title of Our Lady of High Grace.