Puna Cathedral

Casabindo and its history

To visit Jujuy is in almost all cases to visit the Quebrada de Humahuaca. Its charm and beauty justify its prominence.

But if you have extra time, it is well worth leaving the most popular tourist circuits to travel those rustic roads that take you to historic villages, making you feel that you are -literally- on a trip to other times.

Once in Abra Pampa, you must take the junction to Provincial Route 11. Be careful because, with luck, some flamingos and parinas may be frolicking in the lagoons.

Then begins a stony, empty path that seems endless. It is the puna from Jujuy that takes you to the touching Casabindo, the oldest standing Hispanic village in Argentina. It was founded by Diego de Almagro in 1535, on his way to Chile, and is famous for two closely related things: its church and its traditional "Toreo de la vincha".

The church dominates the town from above, not only because of its radiant white in the middle of the brown adobe houses, but especially because of its unusually large size. Its construction began in the late seventeenth century and was inaugurated by Dean Gregorio Funes in 1722. It is hard to believe that its conservation is almost intact. Its tall bell towers escort the great entrance arch.

The bullfighting festival, the only one of its kind in Argentina, takes place every August 15, right in front of the church and is celebrated in honor of the Assumption of the Virgin.

If you continue south you will find typical highland villages, almost ghosts, where you can only see one or two shepherdesses walking in the distance.

Then the lagoon of Guayatayoc, strongly salty and alkaline, that overflows in the summer season and dries up during the rest of the year. Crossing its surface following the path insinuates mirages, in which it seems that the water is approaching, until, arriving, the eyes realize that it was only an illusion in the stormy immensity.

The journey produces fatigue and fills you with dust, but it is very comforting at the same time, with the taste of conquering such distant and lonely horizons.