- Title: BOLIVIA: Restoration plans for thatch-roofed 'Andean Sistine Chapel'
- Date: 14th February 2009
- Summary: CURAHUARA DE CARANGAS, BOLIVIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF LLAMAS GRAZING CLOSE TO CHURCH GENERAL VIEW OF AREA WINDS BLOWING ACROSS PLAIN VARIOUS OF AYMARA WOMEN IN PLAZA VARIOUS OF CHURCH'S BELL TOWER INTERIOR OF BELLTOWER VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF CHURCH GENERAL VIEW OF INTERIOR INSCRIPTION SHOWING CONSTRUCTION DATE: 1608 INSCRIPTION AND PAINTING OF CHRIST VARIOUS OF MURA
- Embargoed: 1st March 2009 12:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: History,Religion
- Reuters ID: LVA6Y2JMT9FIJGUPC9KFZJ0Y7X3K
- Story Text: Restorations at an 'Andean Sistine Chapel' look to maintain well-preserved murals mixing Catholic and indigenous symbolism.
The church at Curahuara de Carangas, Bolivia is a long way from the grandeur of the Vatican. It sits on the lonely plateau close to Chile's border, 120 miles (200 kms) south of La Paz.
Llamas graze on the windswept steppe where the church's bell tower sticks into mountain air that is cold, arid and thin. But it's the same cool dry air that has kept murals inside the 400-year-old church in nearly mint condition.
This 'Andean Sistine Chapel' is a colorful fusion of Renaissance and Baroque painting, mixing indigenous beliefs and sensibilities to create a style known as 'mestizo baroque'.
Father Gabriel Antequera has been here for two years. He says the low light in the church's shadowy interior has also contributed to conservation.
"The good condition of the paintings is because of the geographic location of the church. It's a cold place. There's no humidity and very little natural light gets in. You can see that in this section next to the door, the color is losing intensity compared to what is in the baptismal room where not much light gets in," he said.
Amongst the churches' treasures are intricately stitched priests' robes that were once used for saying Latin mass.
Although the mastery of Michelango's brush is missing, the murals, painted by four artists brought from Peru, tell a different story than those of the Sistine Chapel.
They show the Catholics efforts to convert indigenous people, either by baptism by water or blood, and a stark image of hell shows a clawed demon herding nude and chained subjects into a flaming dragon's mouth.
These frightening images were meant to clearly spell out the Catholic's message for local Indians even if they couldn't read the Bible.
Now Antequera wants to ensure all this is preserved.
The thatched roof is intact, but some of the adobe brick pillars supporting the largest wing of the church are eroding.
He recently got the interest of the German embassy in the Bolivia. A donation of nearly $35,000 will go into restoring columns and installing a lighting system in hopes of encouraging tourism.
"It seemed to be something so unique, something never seen before, in a place like Curahuara that is so removed from civilization," said Helen Bender, an official at the German embassy in La Paz.
Under the guidance of Antequera, different symbols between these mestizo paintings and their European ancestors are clear.
Antequera points to the images of a white dog and a black cat in the Last Supper depiction as mestizo symbols representing Saint Peter and Judas.
"The white dog represents loyalty, friendship, fidelity and the black cat is the opposite, the demon, the darkness. Both are there to describe the apostles," he said.
The Catholic church is powerful in Bolivia, but many still practice Indian religions that existed for centuries before the arrival of the Spanish. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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