When planning our itinerary of Bolivia, we wanted to include Sucre, the country's’s fifth largest and most beautiful city, as it was billed as "the ideal place for travelers to recharge their batteries, study Spanish and immerse themselves in the local culture." After spending a few days in and around gritty La Paz, Sucre sounded like the perfect place especially since it was also one of the cheapest and safest cities in South America.
On the next corner was the Convento de San Felipe Neri constructed of stone as a monastery in 1796. Later covered with a layer of stucco, it is now an all girls parochial school. It was closed so we vowed to tour it another time as it was supposed to be very pretty and have marvelous views of the city.
Known as the 'City of Four Names,' Sucre was previously called Charcas, La Plata and Chuquisaca. In addition, Sucre, like Peru's Arequipa, was also known as The White City.
In the center of town was pretty Plaza 25 de Mayo where we had stopped by the previous evening after arriving from La Paz. One of the things I loved about South America was how the town squares were so well popular with the locals. A statue of the famous liberator and Bolivia’s first president, Antonio José de Sucre, stood in the center of the square.
Unlike the quiet plaza last night, on the Sunday morning there was a large parade and foot race going on in the streets bordering the square.
We had intended to tour the Casa de la Libertad right away as it was only open in the morning on Sundays. We got waylaid, however, for a while by the fun goings on that blocked access to the House of Liberty.
Originally a Jesuit chapel, Casa de la Libertad became a museum dedicated to one of the most important times in Bolivia’s history. One of Sucre’s slogans is 'Sucre, donde nacio Bolivia' (Sucre, where Bolivia was born), and it was in the Casa de la Libertad where it all happened.
After witnessing the start of the Latin American Wars of Independence right outside its doors on May 25, 1809, it was inside the Casa de la Libertad that the wars were finally put to an end with the liberation of Bolivia, the last country to be freed from Spanish rule.
Outstanding furniture and decorative objects from Bolivia's colonial and republican periods filled the Honor Hall where important leaders and guests were received.
The most important work in the room was the image of Simón Bolívar done by the famous Austrian painter Francis Martin Drexel and donated to the museum in 1929.
The Vice Regal Hall displayed artistic treasures of the 17th and 18th centuries from the Spanish conquest of South America to the beginning of Bolivia's Independence War. Several small pictures were of the Inca dynasty.
The 18th century harpsichord was made in La Plata, the city now known as Sucre.
Exquisite, small chests had belonged to Jesuit missionaries.
The Coat of Arms of the city of La Plata revealed its history: an imperial eagle with a crown, the Potosí mountain known for its huge silver deposits, a smaller hill with six vases to melt metal, an indigenous person throwing a piece of silver, and, at the bottom, a hand holding a white flag and a Jerusalem red cross. On the border were ten enemy heads who were beheaded because they had been disloyal to Spain.
Juan José de Segovia y Liendo, the first (South) American-born 'Rector and Honor Judge of the Royal Court,' was depicted in this 18th century oil painting.
Where the major altarpiece of the Domestic Chapel had been were now huge portraits of Bolívar, Antonio José de Sucre and other leaders of Bolivia's fight for freedom from Spain.
Bolívar declared that this portrait of him by Peruvian artist José
This portrait was of Antonio José de Sucre who became the first constitutional president of Bolivia after winning the Battle of Ayacucho which represented a "great victory for American arms."
The lovely Moorish-style ceiling was made of cedar and polychrome.
The document that established the creation of Bolivia as a sovereign and independent state was signed in August, 1825, by 48 representatives of the 5 provinces from that time.
In the next room were two portraits of Juana Azurduy who fought alongside her husband in 'different war situations' during Bolivia's war of independence. She led guerrillas known as 'Loyal Supporters.' The first picture showed her holding a Spanish Detachment Flag which she personally carried away from the enemies. Because of that action, she received the rank of Lieutenant Colonel of Militias.
The adjoining ancient Senate Hall was transformed into the museum's Presidential Gallery where a series of presidential portraits chronologically depicted the republican life of Bolivia.
The Limoges china belonged to Bolivar.
The Mariscal Sucre Room showed the important role played by the country's founder of the republic through portraits, maps of battles and some of his personal objects.
Very early in the morning on April 18, 1828, Sucre awoke to discover troops in the barracks had mutinied, induced by an Argentinean sergeant and a Peruvian.
In the Room of Deliberative Deputies who proclaimed the country's independence, was the wood carving of a condor, Bolivia's national bird.
The condor supported the Decree of August 13, 1825, which established the three powers to rule the new Republic: Legislature, Executive Branch and the Judiciary. It was incredible to stand in the room where the deeds were signed that gave birth to the country.
We had fun wandering around town while keeping an eye out for the minibus stop to take us to Parque Cretacio, one of the town's more unusual sights that is the subject of my next post.
The Teatro de Febrero had a colorful sign advertising an upcoming show.
There was one gorgeous white church or building after another in charming Sucre.
The bus slowly wound its way through the Mercado Campesino, the largest market place in Sucre. The name of the market translated to 'market of the people from the countryside.' That was because many of the products were grown or manufactured outside of the city.
The market was also the most common place for country or indigenous people to conduct their business in Sucre. I read it had been operating for 26 years and it continued to expand with the popularity of market culture in Bolivia.
The vendor was selling jello in plastic bags to the bus passengers. Somehow, I had no appetite for jello in a bag right then!
This market experience via bus had certainly been our cheapest trip to any market! Plus, there were no bulky souvenirs to try and stuff in a suitcase!
Founded by the Spanish in the 16th century, Sucre was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991 to protect its many pristine and historically significant buildings, most of which dated to the colonial era. When planning our adventure, I had been surprised to learn that Sucre, and not La Paz, was recognized in the Constitution as the nation's capital.
The stroll from our guesthouse to 'downtown' Sucre a few blocks away took us through the so pretty Plaza Cochamba. Already, the city was so much prettier than what we'd seen in La Paz. Sadly, that didn't take much.
On the left, more of the Convento.
After paying the nominal admission fee, we were each given small tablet computers for free that described in English each of the museum's rooms and their contents. Never have we had access to such a great resource when visiting any other museum in our travels around the world.
The former Domestic Chapel had been the most sacred place in the country and was where the most important men in Latin America also defended their doctoral dissertations. After the War for Independence, the room was known as Independence Hall when it was selected to hold the meeting of the 48 deputies of High Peru. They proclaimed independence on August 6, 1825 and the country was called the Republic of Bolivia, named in honor of its most celebrated liberator, Simón Bolívar. The country later became just Bolivia alone.
If you click on the second picture to make it bigger, you will notice the initials IHS carved into the Low Choir stalls' cedar wood frame. They stood
for 'Iesus Hominum Salvatorem.' I had forgotten so much
of my five years of studying Latin so was glad it was translated as meaning
'Jesus, Savior of Men.'
The vibrant red chairs were part of the High Choir.
A mammoth carving
in carob wood by Mauro Nunez in 1966
represented the effigy of Liberator Simón Bolívar. It weighed four tons and was over 8.5 feet tall!
Behind the carving was the country's coat of arms in cedar wood.
Sucre, riding his horse and sword in hand, tried to subdue the rebellion but he was shot and recuperated at the palace. After a neighboring governor arrived to put down the rebellion and save Sucre, the president retired his leadership of the republic and to recover his health.
For a dose of Bolivian history, it was hard to beat the museum which was declared a national memorial and considered to be the birthplace of the nation.
Also bordering the town's plaza was the seat of the Roman Catholic Church in Bolivia, the Catedral Metropolitana, which was of great importance to the deeply religious city. Construction started on what was then the Cathedral Church of La Plata in June, 1552. Work was not fully completed until 260 years later, in 1712. Sadly, the Metropolitan Cathedral has been suffering from significant deterioration in recent years.
The knockers on the baroque doors were set higher than normal, to accommodate horse-mounted visitors! I learned that the Cathedral's bell rang to start the movement of independence from colonial Spain.
When we entered, Mass was just ending so we waited a few minutes before taking in the expansive white nave beautifully lit by the sunlight which filtered through the many stained glass windows. It was decorated with crystal chandeliers and embellishments in gold and Potosí silver.
The stunning, white and gold-trimmed pulpit featured an angel in old-fashioned Spanish military clothing. The ornate altar was crowned by a silver crucifix known as the Cross of Carabuco.
The walls of the beautiful Cathedral were lined with large oil paintings depicting the martyrdom of the apostles.
When our four children were young, I took them to Mass at our local church, St. Frances Cabrini, which they referred to as the 'donut church' as there were often free donuts given out! The lady on the corner by the cathedral selling the glazed and chocolate donuts for just one Boliviano or .14 reminded me of that time long ago.
It appeared that Sucre's citizens respected the sign not to post notices to any of the historic buildings as we saw none.
We could have taken a tour to the dinosaur park several kilometers north of the city but the local bus would take us right there eventually and would be far more interesting!
After only being in Sucre for a few hours, we were already both taken by its colonial charms and as the birthplace of Bolivian independence.
Next post: Up very close with 65 million year-old dinosaur footprints!
Posted on March 7th, 2018, from Littleton, Colorado.
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