perfectly symmetrical, shows decorative structures such as pilasters and arches in reliefs; some inscriptions written with the names and economic contributions for its reconstruction in 1904, combined with religious and natural motifs: a great sacred, countable, and earthly potpourri. Inside the restored temple, the baroque altarpiece with pillars deco- rated with natural motifs, some in strong colors such as green and red, and others embossed in gold, leaving the arches and vaulted ceiling that the church originally had as evidence. As a synthesis of this combination of agriculture, religion, and tradition, we see one of the images of the altarpiece: San Pedro. Not just any San Pedro, but the one from Guañacagua, who proudly wears a chullo on his head, a true testimony of the Chilean Altiplanic Baroque. !
Balance & Fragility In Ofragía
The memories, signs, and lessons of ancient peoples who traveled in caravans through ravines and plains are engraved here. Each day, the glyphs seem to come alive with the change in the sun's orientation.
By: Pablo Jordán
The Codpa Ravine, at the head of the Vitor Ravine, is an exceptional place. There we find a testimony of life and human settlement that, through time, clearly shows us the situation sought today by our para- digm of sustainability: how to inhabit a territory respectfully with its ways and use its riches to support human life and its communities, without degrading or losing it. In a delicate balance between the environment and a pattern of oc- cupation, exploitation, and development, a method of implanting human work has been established for centuries, with careful use of scarce re- sources (water as the main expression), and also the production of subtle and important habitational goods. The shade, the structural solidity, the challenge of the topography utilizing terrace cultivations, irrigation networks and circulations, meeting points, places of offering, worship, and ceremony. In daily dialogue, Pachamama influences the most subtle human actions such as toasting, traveling, building, or remembering. We are faced with the integration of millenary observations and their transformation into lessons of production, construction, and habitation. Ofragía, a small town in the heart of the pre-Hispanic route from the highlands to the coast, following the course of the ravine's vitality and its waters, is today the custodian of a spectacular manifestation of art and communication. The ancient peoples, in their bidirectional transit of caravans through the system of ravines and plains, left their memo- ries, signs, and historical lessons engraved in stone. The petroglyphs of Ofragía, a few kilometers downstream from Codpa following the course of its ravine, show us the talent of their anonymous authors. Masters and apprentices marked their footprints on the stones of the southern slope of the ravine, just at the confluence with the affluent coming from Timar. Looking north, the glyphs seem to come alive as the hours pass and the sun's orientation changes. Carefully located above the vegetation line, they constitute a lookout to the valley's greenery. A place for recreation, contemplation, and information. A pile of symbols. Although they appear out of order, upon closer examination they reveal pictures of moments in the life of these ancient peoples. Hunting, war or battle, the ever-present solar disk, the caravan, and animals. Occasionally, references to fauna: snakes, llamas, guanacos, and birds intermingle on the eternal slates with hunters, children, and groups of people. The mood quickens at the discovery of the glyphs. High above the ravine, close to the visitor. They mark the route, they mark the destination, they give an account of the presence, and are silent testimony of those who once saw and populated this place.
A San Pedro wearing a chullo on his head is the best example of the cultural richness that survives in these highland villages. Codpa & Guañacagua, Among Wines, Crosses And Saints
By: Diego Edwards & Javiera Pérez
To encounter a town of stones and adobe, (active) agriculture on Inca terraces, and people deeply tied to their land, landscape, and traditions, is a unique and unexpected experience. The locals who give value to the territory are unforgettable, like the priest of the commune of Camarones and surroundings: a peculiar and charismatic character, the closest thing to a celebrity in these lands. He is known from Codpa to Timar because he travels kilometers visiting villages on foot, by donkey or car, to keep the Catholic tradition alive. That night in Codpa, next to the Altiplano Foundation, the parish priest welcomed us with a feast. A bonfire and candles accompanied the conversation and the banquet was prepared to entertain us: a delicious barbecue, fruits, local cheeses, and pintatani, a local wine made tradi- tionally. Mythical stories such as the Pozón de Jasjara, where a mermaid appeared to those who dared to cross at night, enriched the evening. From Codpa we went to the town of Guañacagua with its impressive church dedicated to the apostle San Pedro. The festival of Las Cruces de Mayo was approaching, one of the main religious celebrations in the area where each family brings out a decorated cross near the road or up the hill. On the way to the church, we were lucky enough to meet several people preparing their crosses for the celebration they would have that night. The church is built in a high part of Guañacagua at the end of its main street, which gives it great importance. It is a set surrounded by a stone and adobe wall, composed of the church, the exempt bell tower (construction separated from the temple's nave), the calvary in front, with its decorated cross, and a cemetery to the back. Its white facade,
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AOA / n°51
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