{"id":4274,"date":"2014-01-01T18:14:33","date_gmt":"2014-01-01T22:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/memmott.us\/blog\/?p=4274"},"modified":"2016-02-14T16:57:44","modified_gmt":"2016-02-14T20:57:44","slug":"curahuara-de-carangas-and-the-sistine-chapel-of-the-altiplano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/memmott.us\/blog\/2014\/01\/01\/curahuara-de-carangas-and-the-sistine-chapel-of-the-altiplano\/","title":{"rendered":"Curahuara de Carangas, the Sistine Chapel of the Altiplano, and Santa Barbara"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Part<\/a>

Part of the mural depicting the last judgement<\/p><\/div>\n

Curahuara de Carangas is the largest town in the area, and host to two churches, one of them renowned as the Sistine Chapel of the Altiplano for its spectacular murals. \u00a0It is also one of your few choices for provisions and accommodations in this area of the altiplano. \u00a0Curahuara was a population center long before the Spanish arrived in Bolivia. \u00a0Many believe that the final battle of the Inca conquest of the Aymara Se\u00f1orios, or mini-states, took place at the mountain fortress, Pucara Monterani, only one kilometer from Curahuara. \u00a0During colonial times the town hosted a royal tax collection office intended to control the traffic in silver, much of which passed along the ancient route to the coast.<\/p>\n

\"Traditional<\/a>

Traditional local leaders, or “jilakatanaka” in Aymara, at the main door of the chapel, which is painted in renaissance style.<\/p><\/div>\n

Nonetheless, until the construction of the bridge over the Desaguadero River some ten years ago, Curahuara was relatively isolated, despite its proximity to La Paz and Oruro. \u00a0For weeks or more at a time the whole area would be cut off due to the flooding of the river. \u00a0That made the town a useful place for placing dissidents in internal exile, and Curahuara served as a high-security prison for political prisoners in the 1950’s. \u00a0At present, Curahuara hosts a regiment of mountain troops who take advantage of the rugged and rocky terrain in the area to practice their skills.<\/p>\n

Whatever else you may see in the area, and even if you are just driving straight through to the Chilean border, do not fail to stop in Curahuara to see the chapel, known officially as the “Iglesia de Santiago de Carangas” or Church of James of Carangas. \u00a0It is one of the most important cultural sites in Bolivia. \u00a0You would also be very well served to obtain Padre Gabriel Antequera’s book, Capilla Sixtina del Altiplano Boliviano<\/em>, which provides a thorough description, focusing on an analysis of the murals, and many photos of the chapel (in Spanish only). \u00a0For a shorter English-language description of the church, its history, and the surrounding area (and much more), see Ambassador Philipp Schauer\u2019s excellent\u00a0Gu\u00eda tur\u00edstica de\/Tour guide of Iglesias Rurales: La Paz y Oruro<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A view of the Chapel of Curahuara de Carangas. The bell tower was completed later and is separate from the chapel.<\/p><\/div>\n

The construction of the chapel began in the late 16th century, and was completed in 1608. It was built by a local cacique (as was very common) by the name of Baltasar Cachagas and by Gonzalo Larama, his deputy. \u00a0The portraits of the two leaders are located behind one of the altars. \u00a0The chapel is an adobe building with a straw roof and a separate bell tower. It’s a beautiful church, but what really sets it apart are the murals that decorate almost all of the interior wall space. \u00a0Much of the mural art is the oldest to be found in Bolivia. \u00a0The chapel was restored with financing from Germany a few years back and, though some of the murals have been damaged and cannot be fully restored, it is nonetheless in beautiful condition.<\/p>\n

\"Detail<\/a>

Detail of the mural of the final judgement, my favorite. This is hell, in case you couldn’t tell.<\/p><\/div>\n

The murals were painted by indigenous masters under the guidance of the priests and were intended for educational and missionary purposes, as well as for decoration. The murals appear to cover all the basic doctrine of the Catholic Church. What’s most fascinating to me is the mix of Catholicism and the preexisting indigenous beliefs – the syncretism – represented in many of the murals. \u00a0The chapel is dedicated to James (Santiago in Spanish), who corresponds to Illapa, the Aymara God of thunder, lighting, rain, hail, snow and wind. \u00a0Padre Gabriel can give you a great tour and tell you what saints correspond to which of the Aymara Gods.<\/p>\n

\"Santa<\/a>

Santa Barbara, after restoration<\/p><\/div>\n

Santa Barbara<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you need evidence that Curahuara de Carangas is more than your average altiplano town, here it is: there are TWO beautiful colonial-era chapels in Curahuara. \u00a0I haven’t seen another small town with two. \u00a0And Santa Barbara may be smaller and humbler, but it is still a beautiful little chapel. \u00a0Santa Barbara was built in the late colonial period (1885-90) of stone on the hillside overlooking Curahuara. \u00a0With its two bell towers and whitewashed walls, and given its location, it is quite attractive today. \u00a0Just 18 months ago, however, the area surrounding the church was scattered with garbage and the churchyard itself was put to use as a restroom. \u00a0The building itself was crumbling.<\/p>\n

\"Santa<\/a>

Santa Barbara, before restoration<\/p><\/div>\n

According to Philipp Schauer<\/a>, there are some 50 colonial-era capillas in the area around Curahuara and running to the Chilean border. \u00a0From my observation, most of them are ruined or in the process of falling back to the dust from which they were built. \u00a0In 2010, the U.S. Embassy began a series of projects under the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation intended to preserve 11 of these chapels. \u00a0Santa Barbara was in the second of the two tranches of chapels to be repaired and preserved.<\/p>\n

\"Tatyana<\/a>

Tatyana and Aliciya entering the church grounds before preservation.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"The<\/a>

The gate and church, pre-preservation<\/p><\/div>\n

\"For<\/a>

For the re-opening of the church, when it was finished, the locals put together a procession. \u00a0Here we see a mix of the troops from the Mountain Regiment based in Curahuara and local leaders.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Mountain<\/a>

Mountain troops carried the image of Santiago, in full military regalia, to the church for the ceremony.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Mitch,<\/a>

Mitch, Aruna, Philipp Schauer, and Tatyana, together with the Bishop of Oruro and Padre Gabriel Antequera at the ceremony for the completion of the preservation work.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Tatyana<\/a>

Tatyana handed out some school materials to the kids.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Inside<\/a>

Inside the chapel<\/p><\/div>\n

Other Things to Look For<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Curahuara de Carangas area has other attractions besides its churches. \u00a0I’m told that some of the best rock climbing to be had in Bolivia is in the area. \u00a0On a clear day, the view from Pukara Monterani is said to be spectacular. \u00a0Pultuma cave reportedly houses rock paintings of llamas. \u00a0There are also chulpas, painted in white and gray, some 10 miles from Curahuara on the road to Totora. \u00a0There are limited directions to these sites in Schauer’s book<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Getting to Curahuara is no challenge at all. \u00a0The left turn is marked very clearly on the road out to Tambo Quemado from Patacamaya, some 11 miles beyond Huchusuma Chapel<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Curahuara de Carangas is the largest town in the area, and host to two churches, one of them renowned as the Sistine Chapel of the Altiplano for its spectacular murals. \u00a0It is also one of your few choices for provisions and accommodations in this area of the altiplano. \u00a0Curahuara was a population center long before […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101,125,92,102,61,100,107,91,59],"tags":[15,190,187,104,191,172,189,14,170],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/memmott.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4274"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/memmott.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/memmott.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/memmott.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/memmott.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4274"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"http:\/\/memmott.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4877,"href":"http:\/\/memmott.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4274\/revisions\/4877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/memmott.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/memmott.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/memmott.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}