(February 15, 2015) We arrived to visit this well-known tourist spot in the province of Misiones. It was past noon and very hot; the sun was extremely strong. I won't dwell on much more than the basic aspects of the place, given that there is a vast amount of information about it online due to its historical and cultural importance. The Visual Guide to the Iguazu Falls and Ibera Wetlands (Clarín), on page 81, states: “San Ignacio Miní Ruins. After the Iguazu Falls, the ruins of San Ignacio Miní (founded in 1632) are the most relevant tourist resource in Misiones. Their state of conservation allows us to appreciate the urban layout of the reductions.” Due to its significant interest, this guide dedicates four more pages (84 to 87) to discussing the ruins. The National Guide to Museums, 2009, by the National Secretariat of Culture and the National Secretariat of Tourism, which alludes to both the Interpretation Center and the Ruins together as the San Ignacio Miní Ruins Site Museum, notes: “It holds part of the original floors of the San Ignacio Miní Reduction, as well as mortars, vessels, and loose remains from the buildings. It features documentation that allows visitors to delve into the history of the mission's life.”
Admission cost 100 Argentine pesos for each arriving visitor. This is the entry price for Argentine visitors; the cost for Brazilian visitors is different, and for visitors from the rest of the world, it is a different cost as well. The interesting thing about the ticket is that it is valid for 1 entry within a 15-day period, provided it remains in good condition. But that's not all: it is valid for 1 entry to each of the ruins belonging to the 4 Jesuit-Guarani complexes. That is, with the same ticket, one could enter the Jesuit Reduction of San Ignacio Miní, the Jesuit Reduction of Santa Ana, the Jesuit Reduction of Nuestra Señora de Loreto, and the Jesuit Reduction of Santa María La Mayor. In other words, with the same ticket, you could enter to explore and visit the entire circuit, hence its 15-day validity. Along with the ticket, you are given a brochure containing photographs and general characteristics regarding the reductions.
Upon entering, the first thing you find is the Interpretation Center or Visitor Center—I already talked about this place in another blog post. After visiting it, you exit and continue the tour, stepping right into the ruins of the reductions. Along the pathway leading you in, you can first see a plaque placed in 2009, which alludes to the San Ignacio Miní Jesuit Mission as a World Heritage Site. In the center of this plaque, the logo of the UNESCO World Heritage program is graphically represented.
As of 2014, the catalog has a total of 1,007 World Heritage Sites. The fact that something is consecrated as a World Heritage Site means that the international community has an interest in it, and each State must ensure its protection and conservation for future generations. Argentina has 10 World Heritage Sites: 4 of them are Natural, another 5 are Cultural, and 1 is Intangible. Some are shared between two or more countries, and others belong solely to Argentina. In 1984, UNESCO declared the Jesuit Ruins of the San Ignacio Miní Mission as World Heritage Sites, along with those of Nuestra Señora de Loreto, Santa Ana, and Santa María la Mayor (currently in Argentina) and São Miguel (Brazil). Of those located in Argentina, San Ignacio Miní is the best preserved; most of its walls remain standing, having been very well kept by the subtropical jungle of Misiones despite natural deterioration.
Passing the plaque, you take a path filled with greenery and large trees that leads us to the central courtyard. As you approach, you can already see the remains of walls from other constructions on both sides. In the background, you can see the facade of the main building, the entrance to the temple. Along the path, there are audio devices; you walk up, press the buttons, and listen to the content. There are also signs in three languages (Spanish, English, and Portuguese) titled "Instructions," which read: “Do not take any element from this site, no matter how insignificant it may seem. Here, a stone or a plant speaks of the history you came to visit. Do not alter the environment, do not write on the stones, do not litter the grounds. Help preserve this cultural heritage of humanity.” Unfortunately, many vandals ignore this message—a message that shouldn't even be necessary, especially for anyone with basic values and/or common sense, yet despite the signs, some engage in pillage and destruction by marking the stones (who knows with what tool), leaving senseless marks, crude old graffiti, nicknames, initials, or simple scratches.
For any visitor, it is advisable to do the tour with a guide. Some guides are more charismatic than others; a guided tour usually departs every thirty minutes, gathering a group of people who are there at that moment—in our case, around fifteen or twenty. You walk along, following and listening to the guide. When it finishes, if someone missed a sector, or decides to take a few more photos, or whatever, they can go back and continue exploring on their own. The same applies if at any point during the tour you get bored or tired of the guide: you can break away and continue entirely by yourself.
In our particular case, we arrived almost midway through an ongoing guided tour, so we joined in and continued until it finished. The interesting and good thing about this guided tour lay in the guide himself: he had indigenous ancestors, came from a Guarani root, and therefore had a particular way of speaking, which he himself pointed out. That made him different, aside from making funny comments that made the tour much more enjoyable. And it was no less thorough for that; alongside all the historical background, he told us about the different trees, their names, made comments about lianas and the yerba mate tree, among many other things—even mentioning a tree that literally ate a stone column, leaving barely any of the column visible as it became completely enclosed by the growth of that tree.
This guide in particular also shared comments about the current real situation of indigenous people, the difficulties they face regarding social inclusion and the preservation of their own culture, mentioning a few achievements of people from Guarani communities who have achieved professional degrees. Although few, there are teachers, a nursing degree holder, a tourism degree holder, and not much more, always according to the guide. He told us about Lugones and Quiroga. It was Lugones who rediscovered the ruins while leading an expedition sent for that task, and he later made them public by writing articles in newspapers. Quiroga’s role was the photographer for that expedition. Quiroga wrote a short novel titled Los perseguidos (1905), which was born out of the trip with Lugones through the Misiones jungle.
In the ruins, you can see the remains of those constructions, imagine how people lived there—thick stone walls that formed what were dwellings: long houses separated by rooms, which came as close as possible to replacing the Guarani dwelling in its natural habitat. These dwellings were long, and several families lived together in them, forming villages known as tekoas. All of this can be better understood when you read a little bit, and also when you listen to the guide, visit the site, and then relate it to other visits, such as the Nadasdy Museum. In that museum, you can see the imaginaria, which were the figures brought and used by the Jesuits to attract the Guarani to Catholicism. At the same time the Guarani settled down to live in the reductions, they dedicated themselves under the guidance of the Jesuits to developing various activities and labors, including craftwork—artisans specializing in all kinds of fields. Regarding art, the Guarani possessed a great capacity that ranged from music and dance to engravings and carvings of religious figures or whatever they could imitate. There are also critical comments pointing to the Jesuits taking advantage of the Guarani, some mistreatment, and a degree of exploitation for their own benefit. Something the guide said that seemed a bit strange to me, and I don't know if it's truly certain or not, is that some of the stones (like some in the photo) are made of bricks coming from solidified anthills—the kind that rise above the ground forming a mound. I don't know to what extent that is true. From what I've read on the web, I understand they are likely basalt or eruptive rock.
However, the vast majority of the stones that give the ruins their characteristic color are red sandstone, a local stone from the quarries of Teyú Cuaré. The stones of the facades and porticos were carved and used in large pieces. They were joined without mortar. Despite this, the walls remain standing to this day.
What a full splendor period of all that must have been—imposing, with firm walls, a roof, and doors, if there were any (unfortunately there is no data on that). What is present around the courtyard where the buildings are located are some devices with audio material and explanations. And all of this is surrounded by the jungle.
Part of it has been recreated in some documentaries and films, the most well-known being The Mission (1986) directed by Roland Joffé. The guide told us that, except for the waterfall scenes, it was mostly filmed in Colombia. This was because the ending included scenes of destruction, explosions, and fire, and to prevent the ruins from suffering any unforeseen accidental damage, they preferred to film in Colombia.
The guide's tour finishes after giving us a recommendation (and advertisement as well) about purchasing a book and a DVD. When you exit, right at the door, there is a small mobile street stall run by one or two vendors selling books related to the topic, a Guarani dictionary, and a music CD. The DVD they sell is called The Jesuit Reductions of San Ignacio Miní and contains the history of the 30 mission towns. The book is Misionera History: An Integrative Perspective, published by Ediciones Montoya and written by M. A. Amable, K. Dohmann, and L. M. Rojas. All three authors are historians (2011 edition). Presented by the “Guillermo Furlong” Center for Historical Research. They sell the book for 200 pesos and the DVD for 100 pesos. We found it convenient to buy them to delve deeper into the subject.
The most splendid part is the facade of the temple, highlighted by its portal, which is marvelous for its dimensions and its particular carved details in the stones.
The details show the skill of the Guarani in art, since everything was made by them. In the upper part of the main portico, on both sides, there are two angels whose faces feature indigenous traits. The internal and external floors are also preserved, all with their details, figures, and drawings. A sculpture of the image of Saint Ignatius of Loyola was recovered, but it is now protected. Other carved stone remnants that fell or deteriorated have been placed in a small shed at the back near the exit, where they are kept for preservation.
To finish, I will comment on the nocturnal Light and Sound Image show. This started at 8:30 PM and lasted 50 minutes. The admission cost to attend is 100 pesos. It runs in groups of a maximum of 70 people and a minimum of 15 people. If the first batch reaches 70 people and another 15 people gather, they run a second show. And it really fills up; in our case, we went on an ordinary weekday and arrived 40 minutes early—we made it just in time because only the last 3 tickets were left.
Images are projected and appear in ghostly form, while an indigenous narrator tells the historical story through a projected voiceover. The narrative mixes history with humorous passages and finally the tragedy of the outcome. It also includes a light show that reflects across all the ruins; it is very nice to enjoy. At the beginning, people gathered at the entrance wait until the indicated time. Punctually, a guide arrives, lets us pass, and before starting, gives us basic instructions—two or three points to keep in mind—and then leads us in. It is nighttime, and the group of people begins to walk. Among the instructions and advice, there is a very basic one: try not to take flash photos because it harms the experience and you miss out on enjoying it. But there are always irresponsible people. It's clear that nowadays everyone has technology—digital cameras, cell phones, and camcorders—so it's inevitable that people will take photos and film (in fact, I did too), but all the guide asks is that the flash not be used because it is bothersome and harmful, and truly it is. The flash glare disturbs the vision of the person standing next to you. But how do you make a group of 70 people understand this? Unfortunately, it's impossible; there are always people willing to be disruptive. So in our group, we started walking and everything was going well until the first stop. When the story and first images began, a woman around fifty or sixty years old with a camera and full flash started taking pictures—just photo after photo, with no respect for others. We turned the corner for the next stop just a few meters away, and this disrespectful woman was once again elbowing her way through to take flash photos, annoying those next to her. Even the little ones weren't acting up. Luckily, we reached the third stop, crossing country through the grass and dodging rocks at night; we had to walk fast and head deep into the patio of the reduction, and because of this, the annoying woman lagged behind out of fear of falling, poor visibility, and fast walking. Thus, the rest of us could enjoy the show, moving from one place to another until the end of this journey into the past.
A highly recommended place to visit.
Links (Consulted February 2015): http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misiones_jesu%C3%ADticas_guaran%C3%ADes
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