April 2025: Painted houses of Quebrada de Humahuaca and strange Angel paintings in
As with many places in Argentina, the street art is really vibrant and relevant to the community. these are from Humahuaca, where there was also the monument and the fabulous iconic cacti.
Saint Francis of Paula Uquia
In a nearby tiny desert village there was a little whitewash church.
Entering the church there is a unique smell a from the wood which is all cactus wood. the roof, pews, alter front are all from cactus wood. On the walls are also unique paintings.
The Spanish conquistador who commissioned the church wanted to dedicated it to the Holy angels. He asked local Cuzco artists to paint pictures of angles. They had no concept of an angel and asked what they looked like the soldier said like me with wings so the artist made 78 paintings of Spanish soldiers with Flamingo wings.
It dates from the 17th century. It is American-style, with 1 m thick adobe walls. The tower is separate from the main building. The altar is hand-carved in cactus wood and covered in gold leaf.
It was declared a National Historic Monument on July 14, 1941. Erected in honor of the Holy Cross and dedicated to Saint Francis of Paula, It was completed in 1691.
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