Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the plaza. The staff here are usually happy to show visitors around for free at 10.30am and
3.30pm from Monday to Friday.
Catedral de Concepción
On the east side of the plaza • Daily 8am-6pm • Bs15
The town's mission church, now the
Catedral de Concepción
is a massive barn-like struc-
ture with an overhanging roof supported by 121 colossal tree-trunk columns, and with a sep-
arate, similarly supported bell tower. Originally designed by
Father Martin Schmidt
and
completed in 1756, it was the first Jesuit church in Chiquitos to be restored, and is the most
extravagantly decorated of them all, with a lavishly painted facade decorated with golden
Baroque floral designs, angels and two images of the Virgin Mary on either side of the door.
The interior is smothered with
gold leaf
, a powerful reminder of the vast wealth the missions
once possessed. Amid the beautifully carved altarpieces, confessionals and statues of saints,
the most interesting detail is the modern
Via Crucis
, a depiction of the Easter story that runs
around the top of the walls. Christ is shown living in present-day Chiquitos, surrounded by
lush tropical forest inhabited by parrots and tortoises, and his betrayal and death are imbued
with contemporary political and ecological metaphor.
Museo Misional
On the south side of the plaza • Mon-Sat 8am-noon & 2.30-6.30pm, Sun 10am-12.30pm • Bs6
An old colonial house that was the childhood home of the former military dictator and later
elected president Hugo Banzer, now houses the
Museo Misional
, dedicated to the restor-
ation of the mission churches of Chiquitos. On display are some good pictures of the dif-
ferent churches before, during and after reconstruction; examples of the crumbling original
wooden pillars and statues which were replaced; and a
small workshop
where a local crafts-
man demonstrates the laborious task of restoring the original statues. There are also
photo-
graphs
of letters written and musical scores composed by Father Martin Schmidt that were
discovered in the 1970s, and an irreverent totem pole-like statue of Hans Roth, the architect
who led the reconstruction effort for 27 years until his death in 1999. The museum
shop
sells
beautiful miniature carved wooden angels and other souvenirs made by local craftsmen, as
well as CDs of Baroque music; there are several other handicrafts shops around the plaza.
San Ignacio de Velasco
178kmeastofConcepción,
SAN IGNACIO DE VELASCO
wasfoundedin1748,justnine-
teen years before the expulsion of the Jesuits from South America, but quickly grew to be-
come one of the largest and most developed of the mission towns. Now the largest settlement
in Chiquitos, it acts as a bustling
market centre
for an extensive frontier hinterland of large
cattle ranches and isolated indigenous Chiquitano communities. At its centre lies the broad
Plaza 31 de Julio
, which is graced by numerous massive swollen-bellied toboroche trees,
whose tangled branches blossom into brilliant pink and white in June and July. The town's
