I hope my post a couple of days ago gave you a flavour of the beauty of the landscape in north western Argentina. Here are a few more observations, particularly on the people--both the tourists and the locals. There are also some more photos at the end.
Indigenous people--then
The area of north western Argentina has been occupied for thousands of years by indigenous tribes who spread down from Peru and Bolivia. However they were pre-literate and so there are no written records. It seems that they were hunter gatherers for about 10,000 years until about 700 AD. Then they gradually turned to agriculture which they carried on in the wide fertile river valleys. As the population increased as a result of this healthier and safer life-style, the different tribes, sub-tribes and clans came into contact with each other and clashes occured. This led to the creation of defensive settlements, perched on hills overlooking the valley where attackers could be readily seen and resisted.
The Quilmes
The fantastic ruins at Quilmes are an example of a superb defensive position from which the Quilmes tribe, who communally, successfully resisted, first the predations of other tribes, then the advances of the Inca civilisation from Peru in the mid-1400s, and lastly the Spanish conquistadors, until the mid-1600s. The site could not have been better if it had been purpose-built and the Quilmes took full advantage of its natural benefits.
They were finally defeated and the whole tribe of 2000 souls was made to walk through the desert to Buenos Aires a distance of 1500 kilometres. Theories vary as to whether any of them survived but the legend certainly lived on, not least in a famous brand of Argentinian beer, Quilmes. Eventually the ruins of the original settlement were returned to those who purport to be the descendants and they have opened the site to low-key and very atmospheric tourism.
The Inca period
The Inca left their mark too, although their time of power in Argentina was quite brief--not even 150 years. Like the Romans they were master engineers and builders and built roads and irrigations systems as well as co-opting rather than waging war against the local tribes.
Salta has a world-class museum (MAAM) illustrating the weaving and craftsmanship of the Incas and their custom of sacrificing chilren to the gods of the volcanoes. Northwestern Argentina does not have many volcanoes, its geology being overwhelmingly sedementary rock. However on the Chilean border is the 6700 volcano of Llullaillaco. At the top of this volcano was found in 1999 the perfectly mummified bodies of three children, surrounded by all their grave goods. The children were not touched, just given a powerful sedative and their bodies were preserved perfectly by the cold and lack of oxygen and humidity on the mountain.
Each of these mummies are displayed in rotation for a few months in the latest atmosphere-controlled conditions in the MAAM museum--the one I saw was the 6 year old girl. The display is extremely well done and not at all goulish (hence no photos in the museum). These children were selected from the highest born families and were the most perfect and beautiful specimens who were chosen to make the journey to the afterlife with the god of the volcano.
The Jesuits
The Jesuits left their mark in the region as well. Each of the little pueblos/villages has a small adobe church with cactus wood ceiling and mud covered roof. I have included some photos. Most of the churches do not permit photography inside. Without doubt the most beautiful one was the little church in Uquia in the Quebrada de Humahuaca, built in 1691. It has a gold altar of finest craftsmanship which takes up the whole of one end of the church, and the walls are lined with first quality religious paintings by native artists who were taught to paint in oils in the European style by the Jesuits---known as the Cusco School of painting.
I saw a lot of these paintings when I was in Cusco, Peru, and the ones in Uquia are the match of any of those. All of the Cusco school painters seem to have had slightly subversive streak---they unobtrusively inserted elements of their own religious iconography into their Christian religious paintings or they would include slightly bizarre features which could not really be faulted but which were clearly tongue in cheek. For example the " Last Supper" in the Cusco Cathedral is a traditional European painting in every way except that the food on the table is a roast guinea pig, which was the feast dish of the Inca.
In Uquia the paintings are of the Archangels (Raphael, Michael, Gabriel etc) who guard the gates of heaven, executed in exquisite detail in the European style but each one of then is carrying a 16th century gun (also painted in exquisite detail) , with which the conquistadors had subjugated the local peoples.
The Encomanderos
Another aspect of the Spanish rule which I hadn't been aware of was the "encomandero" system. As the Spanish extended their conquests further and further south they awarded vast tracts of land to privileged conquistadors, ostensibly to ensure that the local people were converted and followed the Roman Catholic religion. However these encomanderos became the local aristocrats and land owners with total control over the local people who worked on the encomandero's fiefdom in virtual slavery.
They got their come-uppance at the time of the wars of independence from Spain in the 19th century. Because they tended to be highly conservative and loyal to the Spanish crown from whom they derived their power, they resisted the independence movement and so had all their lands confiscated by the new republic. As a result the origins and layout of today's towns and villages is different dependingon whether they were originally founded around an encomandero's estate or whether they were a traditional native pueblo.
Today
As soon as you step off the plane you can see that, unlike in the central and eastern parts of Argentina, the people of the northwestern Argentina are, unsurprisingly, predominantly of indigenous extraction. However, as in other parts of Argentina there is a class divide and those who look more European tend to be the more prosperous and powerful.
Tourism is clearly a major source of income but there is also excellent agriculture and some light industry in the valley between Jujuy and Salta. I mentioned in my previous post the fertility of the soil. If the land happens to be on the eastern slopes of a mountain chain where the prevailing winds drop their rain or in the river valleys which can be watered and irrigated, a vertible cornucopia of fruits and vegetables flourish as well as cash crops such as soy beans, maize, tobacco and even sugar cane.
What I haven't mentioned before are the handicrafts. I am not a big souvenir buyer and am always looking for the "Made in China" label on things. And indeed there is a great deal of tat being sold in stalls in the village plazas and passed off as hand made crafts.
However there is some really good stuff. As we drove down the winding gravel road from Cachi to Los Molinos south of Salta my guide turned off onto an even worse rutted stony road called the Road of the Artisans. There in the middle of nowhere are the workshops of the native weavers of Argentina. When I say "workshop" I mean a loom set up outdoors, beside their little adobe compound, with the spinning an dying of the sheep and llama wool done next to it and the beautiful finely-woven ponchos and shawls and and decorative items hung on lines between the trees. They do not weave for the commercial market but only what they sell from their compound on the Road of the Artisans.
Weaving is by tradition a man's job, with the skill passed from father to son, and the women do the spinning and dying. The loom is operated standing up, completely manually by hand and foot and the dyes are all natural from berries and nuts. A full sized poncho takes 3 to 4 months to weave.
We stopped at the workshop of Arnaldo Guzman. His father was selected by the Argentinian government to make a poncho of vicuna wool for the Pope on the occasion of his visit to Argentina. And it is clear that Arnaldo has his father's gift. And he and his wife were utterly charming. Yes I did buy a few things :)
The tourists
What I found rather interesting though was the ethnic profile of the tourists! There are almost no tourists from the UK, but there are a great many French tourists! My guide told me that the main European tourists to the region are French, followed by Belgians, and then the Spanish and the Germans! I did run into a fair number of Canadians and there are a number of Americans as well. Cafayate is a very cosmopolitan and happening little community and a big complex is going up in the suburns of retirement villas for Americans complete with golf courses and vineyards where you can try your hand at growing vines.But of the Brits, not a sign.
I guess it all comes down to marketing. I had a casual browse through the websites of the major British tour companies just now and although they feature Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls etc, the Salta region is hardly mentioned except as a place to go trekking in the mountains. This is a real shame since the tourist infrastructure of the region is not bad at all and English speaking guides are readily available. And the scenery and history is beguiling. There is no need to "rough" it. If I was looking for a new career (I'm not) I would wake up the UK market to the tourist opportunities of north western Argentina.
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