Have you ever had a moment when you feel weightless, still, floating, at one with the world? A visit to San Xavier mission provided exquisite moments, including one like this. It got me thinking…
The changing face of the Amazon Basin
The rainforest is shrinking in Bolivia, and fast. Or should I say, it’s being burnt down and cleared ruthlessly, mainly for cattle and growing soya beans. When I first found out that I was going to the ‘missions’ on my Bolivian trip, images of the 1986 film with Jeremy Irons, Robert de Niro and Liam Neeson filled my head and peaked my curiosity. These old mission buildings still exist but now many of them are no longer surrounded by rainforest. That’s long gone but some of the mission buildings are still standing, and at the heart of their communities.
The Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos – San Xavier, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site
A little under 4 hours drive from the capital, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, is the small town, or large village, of San Xavier (San Javier). On one side of a very large piazza stands the mission, one of the Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos. The mission complex runs the whole length of one side of this square and the first impression was “it’s huge”!
This mission is one of about twelve which still exist. They can be visited on a circuit which extends into Paraguay. The architectural styles of these missions are similar – the main building with a high roof, a little reminiscent of a Swiss chalet, with a cloistered courtyard to one side. The facades are painted. Not surprisingly, considering their age, they’re timber-framed structures.
Renovating the missions
A little digging uncovered that the architect who designed this mission building in San Xavier was Swiss priest Martin Schmidt – hence the alpine influence. It was built between 1749 and 1752. Over the years there has been painstaking renovations of the building. The latest was driven by the delightful Milton Villavicencio. It is a lifelong labour, a work of passion for him. His enthusiasm shines as he guides visitors around the mission’s museum.
Artefacts from the mission. exhibited in the adjoining museum, and restored by Milton Villavicencio (far right).
The mission of San Xavier was established, as the first Jesuit mission in the Chiquitos region, by Jesuits Fr. Antonio de Rivas and José de Arce. However today’s building, also known as San Francisco Xavier, is not on the original mission site. It moved here some 50 years after the mission was first founded. The San Xavier mission was made a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990, but restoration continues to this day.
On to Concepcion
An hour further on is the Jesuit mission in Concepción, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Very similar in design, this mission is a little more ornate, especially inside and around the altar. Again it runs the length of one side of a large square.
The more ornate mission in Concepcion
Rainforest and villages
Beyond these towns, and amidst the surrounding rolling hills, plantations and estancias, there are still pockets of rainforest. When you enter a rainforest you quickly get a sense of how dense they are and how close you are to a plethora of nature. Imagine navigating a whole landscape covered in these jungles. When the missions were first founded, the rainforest was not only extensive but in places impenetrable and yet these vast structures we founded and built by missionaries within local tribal communities.
A brief amble along a track into the forest and immediately a tarantula makes an appearance. Arriving by a lake, capybara and cayman can be seen, along with beautiful smaller nature, like an exquisite hummingbird moth. It’s all there. You barely have to look but if you don’t it can be easy to miss. And the sound of the rainforest leaves you in no doubt that it’s very much alive with much more than you can obviously see.
The rainforest is alive with amazing wildlife. A tarantula and a hummingbird moth
The villages in this rainforest would have provided the original congregation for these missions and the targets for conversion to Christianity. Although some people have moved to towns like San Xavier, there are still lots of small villages and communities down red-earth tracks in the surrounding areas. In an age when suddenly sustainability and oneness with nature are back on people’s radar and en vogue – as the long dismissed climate change starts to bite around the world – a visit to one of these villages is truly enlightening. The traditional way of life is just that, sustainable, and it is only the influence of capitalism which has threatened that.
In the village community of Santa Rita, the women make beautiful clothing from start to finish; spinning and colouring the yarn using natural dyes from rainforest plants and berries. The weaving on simple but effective on hand-operated looms. The array of colours is both surprising and striking.
The indigenous women in Santa Rita village making beautiful and sustainable fabrics and garments
It’s fascinating to see the whole process from start to finish; from leaf and berry to beautiful garments, woven as a team effort across the generations. The women work together as a collective. These communities make this clothing to sell and bring in vital income. The area doesn’t receive that many tourists but the missions pull in people. No doubt, if I investigated further, I’d find that these products make their way to the big city markets as well.
The architecture and the interiors
Back in the missions, the architecture is impressive. Obviously full of religious symbolism, it is none-the-less stunning artwork in its own right. The colours and details are beautiful all around the building, not just surrounding the altars, although these are the most striking. You can immediately understand why the renovations have taken some many decades and are ongoing. In contrast to the altar and environs, the central congregational area of the mission building, the pews, whilst beautifully carved and detailed, retain the natural colour of the wood without any other colouring.
Inside the mission building the art is both detailed and impressive
Music brings the missions alive
The mission buildings are tranquil places until they start to fill with people. Even then they are still hushed; a place of reverence. I was privileged to witness a concert in San Xavier mission – performed by the town’s youth orchestra. It was an ensemble of guitars, cellos, basses, violins and voices, plus a few traditional instruments like the pan flute.
San Xavier mission comes alive when filled with music – the youth orchestra voices and players
The sound of music filling this vast space brought the mission building alive. It reached into every corner. This concert music was baroque, but I honestly felt it wouldn’t have matter what style it was because the acoustics were incredible.
The un-amplified sound seem to just hang echoless in the air, even in the farthest corner of the building from the orchestra and voices. As usual, I was taking photographs, and in doing so I explored viewpoints all around the building, so can say this with certainty. Religion doesn’t really feature in my life. However, I could immediate see why these missions had such an impact on indigenous people and the attempts to convert them from their traditional culture to christianity. They still hold power today.
That exquisite moment – the voice of an angel
At the start I asked if you’ve ever had a moment when you feel weightless, still, at one with the world? Enveloped in the moment? Well, as I reached the centre of the building, where the main isle crosses the one between the two side door, it hit me. It was areligious but nonetheless intense.
The voice of an angel
In front of the altar and orchestra, half the building away, the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard, and I really do mean THE most beautiful, effortlessly and flawlessly exuded Ave Maria. It wasn’t belted out. It just flowed out of her. And it stopped me in my tracks.
The camera dropped from my eye – for a rare moment it became irrelevant – and my body filled with total awe and calm. I had inadvertently discovered a particular sweet spot in the building which amplified it to a higher level. It was hard to describe. Beyond words, the sensation was tactile as well as audible, and all enveloping. One of the most beautiful moments of my life and certainly the most that music has ever joyously affected me. Thank you San Xavier for such an exquisite moment. You touched my life deeply.
Find out more about San Xavier mission
Other Eye for the Light stories from Bolivia: Dinner with the Queen, Legacy of War & The Power of Dance
Check out other ‘Journeys’ on Eye for the Light
All images © Chris Coe
