On the first Sunday in May, Catholics participate in the traditional religious celebration of the Virgin of the Stone, in the town of La Isla, located 22 kilometers from the city of Combarbalá. Thousands of pilgrims demonstrate their devotion by climbing the hill were the stone virgin is located. various interesting aspects of the Inca-Catholic mixture are present in this festivity, as in others through the north of Chile. Among these, are: payment of ""mandas"". which are commitments between the virgin and the pilgrim, were the virgin grants some wish, and the pilgrim pays with physical, usually painful, acts (e.g. climbing the hill on the knees). Another interesting aspect of the festivity are the "religious dances", which are Inca in origin, but nowadays represent the mixture between indigenous and Catholic beliefs. In these dances, groups of men, women and children dance in columns, dressed in non-traditional outfits (e.g. gypsies. red skins), while are followed by a band composed of different types of drums, and sometimes different kinds of flutes.