« Baroque » roads
The “Baroque” style was born in the 16th
century in Italia in the cities of Rome, Mantua, Venice and Florence. It is
present in every areas; music, painting, sculpture, architecture and theater.
It is distinguished by the exuberance of the movements as well as the shapes.
Overworked in decorations, almost pompous, it is the continuity of the
Renaissance artistic movement.
Bolivia represents, in the entire Latin America, the ultimate country
for “Baroque” style.
It is a place where the Native Americans mixed it with the
aboriginal art. Thus, we can talk about Métis/half-breed baroque.
For example, in the architectural area, we can’t talk about
baroque without mentioning the Jesuit missions in the east of Santa-Cruz de la
Sierra, which are recognized by UNESCO with San-Javier, Santa-Ana and San-Miguel
towns and the wonderful church of San-José de Chiquitos.
Nevertheless, the Baroque architecture
shouldn’t be limited to Jesuit missions. Indeed, it is present in all over
Bolivia. In Potosi, there are the “Casa de la Moneda”, Santa-Teresa monastery, San-Lorenzo
portal and San-Martin and Manquiri church. In Sucre, there are the Merced
church, San-Francisco church, San Miguel church, Santa-Clara monastery, the
recoleta and the cathedral. In La Paz, there are the national museum of art and
San-Francisco monastery. It is also possible to mention Carabuco de Carahua and
Sica-Sica churches, both located on the way between La Paz and Oruro.
In Bolivia, the baroque music is also a result
of a subtle blend, between the colonial art and the festive and rhythmic
aboriginal songs of the region. The artisans keep producing their instruments
and the creation of a music school ensures to preserve this culture. The music
school of Moxos, over the time, got back thousands of original music scores,
scattered in the vast territory of Beni. This treasure is the original baroque
music that was played in that region before the colonial governments deport
Jesuits.
Every two years, the region of Jesuit missions organizes a
baroque music festival, internationally known, and, on this occasion, we manage
trips during the representations. Please, feel free to contact us if you are
interested in.
