cnn.com - bolivia_ historic temple worth the trip - jun 29, 2005

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CNN.com - Bolivia: Historic temple worth the trip - Jun 29, 2005

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Bolivia: Historic temple worth the tripWednesday, June 29, 2005; Posted: 10:37 a.m. EDT (14:37 GMT)

San Jose de Chiquitos temple in Boliviais one of 33 "missions" the Jesuits builtto protect the Indians.

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SAN JOSE DE CHIQUITOS, Bolivia (AP) -- In this remotetown in eastern Bolivia, an unlikely monument risesmajestic above the simple red tile-roofed houses -- thelonely survivor of a glorious past.

Little has changed here since the San Jose de Chiquitos temple wasbuilt 250 years ago. Hot, quiet and devoid of most modernconveniences, the village looks lost in time, at the end of the world.

But a glimmer of hope is making a difference: colonial art specialistsand architects are working to bring back some of the temple's ancientglory, although at an exasperatingly slow pace.

The name of the town doesn't do the temple justice. "Chiquitos" meanssmall in Spanish, and the structure is magnificent -- the first built by theJesuits as part of a massive evangelization campaign that ensured thefreedom of tens of thousands of native Indians who otherwise wouldhave become "encomiendas" -- or slaves of the Spanish conquistadors.

But its glory remains almost hidden by its relatively remote location --although the town of San Jose de Chiquitos is accessible by train fromthe city of Santa Cruz, which has an airport with connections fromBolivia's capital, La Paz.

And it's a pleasure to see the temple after spending hours in a candlelitroom with no air conditioning at the local posada -- Chiquitos has noelectricity between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m.

Its brown stone-covered facade and three-story tower rising from theflat horizon, the monument stands on a neat green plaza like an

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/06/29/bolivia.temple.ap/index.html (1 of 4)6/29/2005 12:39:26 PM

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IF YOU GO ...

Getting there: American Airlinesflies from Miami to La Paz, Bolivia,with connecting service to SantaCruz. From Santa Cruz, you cantake a train to San Jose deChiquitos.

Flights are also available to La Pazon other airlines from many other

major South American cities,including Lima, Peru, and Caracas,Venezuela.

Accommodations: Have a travelagent book a hotel reservation foryou; sometimes hotels are full. Trythe Hotel Turubo, which chargesabout $15 a night and has airconditioning.

Currency: Buy some Bolivianmoney (about 8 pesos to the U.S.dollar) before you leave Santa Cruz.Fifty dollars per person is plenty topay the hotel, taxis and meals inSan Jose de Chiquitos.

Tips: Bring a flashlight, as San Josede Chiquitos has no electricitybetween 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. And takea blanket for the train: sometimesthe air conditioning is strong. The

blanket will protect you against themosquitos too.

undiscovered gem, waiting for colonial art lovers and seekers ofarchitectural treasures.

But time, neglect and vandalism have taken a heavy toll. Doors, walls,arches, paintings, statues, altars -- all cry for care.

The restoration team, funded by the federal and local government,expects to complete its job in a couple of years.

"The main altar should be ready in a few more months. The rest,perhaps by 2007," said chief architect Marcelo Vargas.

'Anthropological revolution'

That would be a record pace for the geologically slow restoration,which has dragged on for 20 years.

UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganization, declared Chiquitos and six other temples as worldcultural heritage sites. That should have entitled the temple for aid from

the government and financial institutions -- but the restoration team thisyear only has $15,000, left over from a contribution by anenvironmental state agency.

The temple is one of 33 "missions" the Jesuits built to protect theIndians. The missions were autonomous, self-sufficient towns in thejungle and prairies over a vast area that today is part of Argentina,Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia.

Experts say the missions were the first "industrial" settlements in theNew World. The Jesuits taught the Guarani Indians handicrafts,

sculpture, woodcarving and how to make and play musicalinstruments. The villages flourished as centers of culture and arts thatwere rare in the hemisphere.

"They led an anthropological revolution. The natives leapfrogged fromthe stone age to the zenith of human knowledge of that time," said ElioMontenegro Banegas, a professor at the local Geography and HistoryCenter. "Chiquitos was the also the only mission with outside walls builtin stone. In 75 years, by 1767, the Jesuits built what Chiquitos is stilltoday."

And it's one of the last remaining missions. Many simply disappeared,along with the Guarani groups that succumbed to the invasion ofsettlers after the Jesuits left.


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Don't expect to find souvenir shopslike those in other places. There arejust a couple of places next to theposada selling some locally madehandicrafts and post cards. Butyou'll have a full day to see thetemple and artistic works, walk inthe open patios, talk with membersof the restoration team and takepictures. At night, there are small

cafes by the plaza, where you caneat. If you like pool, there is a billiardhall with two tables by the plaza.

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The Chiquitos temple survived thanks to Chiquitanos, as the people ofthe town are known. The Chiquitanos did not allow major changes tothe temple because, even now, they consider it the symbol of their past.

"Generation after generation, they were alert to prevent changes in thelook of the church. Priests wanted to change the temple, and evenreconstruct it. But the population was always against it. Chiquitanosmaintained it the best they could. If a beam was rotting or breaking,they removed it and put in a new one, all from a single tree," said

architect Vargas.

Careful restoration

A view of a tower at San Jose deChiquitos temple

Slowly, patiently, therestoration team labors toundo damage of nature andrestore the temple to itsformer glory. Dozens ofpieces of carved wood and

painting frames lie strewnin the workshops.

"Humidity always playedhavoc with the temple,"mumbles Lizbeth Cordova,as she patiently plastersmica layers on the carvedwooden slab of one of theside altars. "Mica gives theappearance of silver. It was

what the metal workersused most to build some ofthe temple's ornaments."

Other parts of the altar will be covered with layers of 22 karat gold imported from Germany and Spain, she said.

Thanks to the solid construction and maintenance provided by the town, wooden pillars supporting the loftystructure and the roof beams look virtually as solid as when the temple was built in 1745-1754.

The Jesuits said the temple "ought to reflect the best of human imagination because it was the place where Goddwelled," said Montenegro, of the Geography and History Center.

When the Jesuits were expelled by the Spanish king, they submitted a list of 120 paintings of the life and passionof Jesus Christ and silver ornaments weighing some 3,700 pounds, Montenegro said. Most of those riches have


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disappeared.

But there have been unexpected windfalls. Restoration experts discovered original paintings concealed under alayer of plain wall paint, and the original art eventually will be uncovered and restored.

"Those are well-preserved paintings that can be recovered, and then we will admire their splendor," said Vargas,the chief architect. "The fact that somebody recklessly painted the walls, was a blessing in disguise."

Copyright 2005 TheAssociated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast,

rewritten, or redistributed.

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