TESUQUE — Shortly after 4 a.m. on Good Friday, a group of 16 teenagers gathered in a circle, held hands and prayed in Spanish at the parking lot of Camel Rock Casino. This was the beginning of their 20-mile pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó.

Most carried backpacks filled with bottled water and chips. Toward the front of the group, a young man carried a walkie-talkie to communicate with one of the girls toward the back of the line.

“I think I’m losing my nose and fingers back here, but we’re fine,” Jaqueline Jáquez said in Spanish, causing laughter among the rest who walked along U.S. 84/285 beside her in the 37-degree weather.

Some of these high schoolers — most of whom attend Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine’s confirmation classes — participated for the first time in the annual walk that has become a tradition in Northern New Mexico.

A santuario secretary said they estimated about 30,000 visitors will show up and pay tribute to El Señor de Esquipulas, an image of Jesus Christ that hangs from a huge handmade wooden altar. El Señor de Esquipulas is said to have been found by Don Bernardo Abeyta in the early 1800s in Chimayó.

Since then, many of the faithful have visited what is now believed to be a holy place, where people walk in with an illness and step out cured. The church’s adjacent shrine has a posito, or well, filled with what the faithful believe is holy dirt. People take plastic sandwich bags and fill them with the dirt to take home.

Through the trajectory along the different highways that lead to Chimayó, drivers can see the youth, children with their parents, mothers pushing strollers and men carrying wooden crosses. Santa Fe County Undersheriff Robert Garcia said that as of Friday night, no incidents had been reported and no DWI arrests had been made.

For Cynthia Esparza, 15, this first visit to Chimayó was well worth the walk.

“I have some problems, and I thought this was worth the sacrifice,” Cynthia said as cars zoomed by. She has some family members left in Chihuahua, Mexico, a current hotbed for crime, and she’s worried for them. “I want all my family to be fine in Cuauhtémoc (Chihuahua).”

Lili Lares, 18, said this was her first time walking with a group of friends, but she has made the pilgrimage for three years.

“It’s a sacrifice, but it’s to give (God) thanks for the many good things and bad ones we go through,” Lili said. “Also because we have good health.”

Her mother, María Lares, said she gave her daughter permission to make the journey with her friends because “it’s her own will — she wants to give thanks.”

Last year, Lili walked with her father; both petitioned for her grandfather’s weak health. But this year, she has her own health in mind. Two years ago she was diagnosed with high blood pressure.

Alan González, 16, Lili’s boyfriend, said he has walked to Chimayó since he was a young boy.

“My family has been walking for years,” Alan said. “I started walking with my parents and uncles. I learned this from them. It’s important to be grateful, to keep up the culture and to be thankful for life. We have to sacrifice a little; we’re too used to getting around in cars.”

Community members who appreciate the walkers’ sacrifice set up rest areas and provide mostly drinks. The teens and the rest of the pilgrims were greeted by a large sign that read “God is in Good Mood,” posted at the rest station by New Life City Church in Albuquerque. Joel and Jeremy Scholz said their father has set up for 22 years, providing hot chocolate, coffee, water, chairs and a portable restroom.

“He wanted this to be a blessing for you guys who are walking,” Jeremy Scholz said.

But a greater comfort for the youth was having a parent nearby.

Almost two hours into the walk, shortly after 6 a.m., one of the teen’s mothers who had been driving just ahead of them — making frequent phone calls to make sure the teens were in good shape — handed out warm bean burritos wrapped in aluminum foil.

They all giggled as they grabbed their breakfast and kept walking toward Chimayó.

Contact Sandra Baltazar Martínez at 986-3062 or smartinez@sfnewmexican.com.