When María Antonia Deolinda y Correa went into the desert with her infant in 1841, civil war was raging in Argentina. Shortly after her birth, her husband had been kidnapped by the Montonera, federal rebels in the civil war against the Unitarian government troops. In her desperation, she wanted to follow the kidnapped man through the desert and set off. Days later, a group of mule drivers found Correa dead in the desert. The child had miraculously survived. Thanks to the mother's milk, it had not died of thirst. The mother's body was buried by the gauchos (Argentinian cowherds) near a nearby hill. Her grave is now a famous place of pilgrimage near Vallecito in the province of San Juan. Truck drivers in particular worship her because she is the patron saint of travelers. In Argentina, you can often find small shrines of the Difunta, where devout drivers stop when traveling alone through the large country.
The veneration of Difunta Correa is based on popular belief and is not recognized by the church, which does not stop Argentines from making pilgrimages to Vallecito in their thousands, and on certain days even in their hundreds of thousands (e.g. at Easter) and leaving water bottles there for the thirsty. In the legend, María embodies the ideal image of a woman: that of a faithful woman who follows her beloved husband, and that of a self-sacrificing mother.