Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Just north of Plaza San Francisco is Plaza Alonso de Mendoza, on the southern side of which
sits the Museo Tambo Quirquincho ; like the Calle Jaén museums, this is run by the mu-
nicipality, though it's far more friendly and helpful. Unfortunately, the place seems to have
been divested of its former treasures and left to crumble quietly, home only to a collection of
60s/70s art. More interesting, perhaps, even if it is falling into disrepair, is the museum's set-
ting: inside a restored eighteenth-century tambo , a compound that served during the colonial
era both as accommodation and marketplace for rural Aymaras. The ornate mestizo-Baroque
archesaroundthemaincourtyardwererecoveredfromtheruinsoftheConceptionistnunnery
on Calle Genaro Sanjines after it was torn down to build a cinema.
< Back to La Paz
Plaza San Francisco and the market district
AtthenorthendofthePrado, Plaza San Francisco isthegatewaytothemainAymaraneigh-
bourhoods of La Paz, which climb up the slopes of the valley to the west. Founded in the
colonial era as the parroquias de Indios - the Indian parishes - these neighbourhoods were
where the Aymara population from the surrounding countryside was encouraged to settle, liv-
ing around churches built as part of the effort to convert them to Christianity; less idealist-
ically, this separate indigenous quarter was also designed as a pool of cheap labour, neatly
separated from the Spanish city by the Río Choqueyapu. Today the area retains a very strong
Aymara identity and its narrow, winding and at times almost vertical streets are filled with
the bustling markets that make it one of the most vibrant and distinctive parts of the city:
nowhere more so than in the Mercado de Hechicería - without doubt one of the most ex-
traordinary sights in La Paz.
Plaza San Francisco
Though the frenetic traffic running alongside detracts from its charm, the Plaza San Fran-
cisco (beingcompletelyredevelopedatthetimeofwriting)isthefocalpointforthecity'sAy-
mara population and one of the liveliest plazas in La Paz, busy with people enjoying snacks
and juices or crowding around the many comedians, storytellers, magicians and sellers of
miracle cures who come here to ply their trade. It's also the usual focus of the city's frequent
political protests , and if you're in La Paz for more than a few days you're likely to witness
a march by striking teachers, unemployed miners, indebted small traders or whichever so-
cial or political group has taken to the streets that week. Such protests are usually colourful
pieces of political theatre, but they can sometimes provoke heavy-handed responses from the
authorities, and clashes between police and demonstrators involving the fairly unrestrained
use of tear gas are not uncommon.
Iglesia de San Francisco
West side of Plaza San Francisco • Free
 
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