Replica

In 1979, the medieval statue of the Virgin of Zikuñaga was stolen from its niche in the chapel of the same name, leaving a void in the landscape and in the imagination of the town. This physical gap became a symbol of the emotional emptiness shared by the community. At the same time, filmmaker Juanmi Gutiérrez, the father of the director, had filmed a short documentary about the image of the virgin in 1977, but the Civil Guard confiscated the reel, plunging the film into oblivion. Both absences—the religious image and the lost film—intertwine in the documentary as metaphors for memory and forgetfulness.

Years later, the chapel was demolished to make way for a new construction, and the original stones were stored by the local factory for four decades. In 2022, the chapel was reconstructed 200 meters from its original location, and the community of Hernani believed that the virgin would return with the restoration of the temple.