A Few Photos From Along Ayacucho's Main Plaza

The Plaza

Ayacucho's main plaza

Equestrian statue of Gen. Antonio Jose de Sucre, one of Bolivar's lieutenants, who led the Independentist forces to victory over the last remnant of the Spanish colonial army at the Battle of Ayacucho.

Most of the plaza was built in the late 1500s and 1600s and all the buildings are in the Spanish style of the time.  There is one detail, however, that passes unnoticed even by people who've grown up in Ayacucho:

Portion of a wall  in Portal Independencia, along the north side of the plaza, showing that at least one Inca mason was used in erecting the original building along the plaza.  Note the close, mortarless fit between stones, and that the face of the each stone bulges out, and recedes toward the joining edges.

 

 

The Cathedral 

Ayacucho cathedral, erected in the 1600s and consecrated in 1671.  To it's right is the Zamora y Castilla mansion, which once belonged to Bishop Cristobal de Castilla y Zamora, who donated it to the newly-created University of Huamanga in 1677.

Central nave and the Baroque main altar of the Cathedral.

 Baroque wooden pulpit.

Detail of one of the chapels along the side naves of the cathedral.  In this case, the depiction is of the Holy Trinity.

The main altar.

Litter bearing the image of Our Lady of Mt Carmel, ready to be borne in procession in the upcoming Fiesta de la Virgen del Carmen (July 16th).

The University House

 

Patio of the Zamora y Castilla mansion.   According to some authorities, that fig tree is 500 years old and is the first one to have been brought to Peru.

Back in Ayacucho

In the predawn hours of the 27th, Susana and I flew to Ayacucho for the Independence Day weekend.  Jacho and Diego had been supposed to join us, but they stalled on getting tickets and the prices of them at the last minute, plus the fact that this year it wasn't a 3-day weekend, finally dissuaded them.

We stayed, of course, in the old family 18th Century house on Jiron Garcilazo de la Vega, a block and half from the Plaza de Armas in Huamanga.

We found the house in pretty good shape.  The front had been re-plastered and repainted a few years ago, and the roof tiles had been repositioned to close up some gaps that had developed, while the ceilings had also been repainted to repair the spotting caused by the leaks in the roof.

The only issue of note was that the floor of the upper room, which used to be Mama Pali and Papa Ramon's, was cracked and slightly buckled, as a result - I was told- of the 2007 earthquake.

Over the next few days, I'll be posting more about our time in Ayacucho.

Views from Old Huamanga

Church of San Cristóbal de Huamanga (1540)

The first church built in Huamanga. In its grounds are buried several of Francisco Pizarro's companions, including Pedro de Candia. The church is now roofless, and is used on extremely rare occasions.

Convent of Santa Teresa (1703)

This is still a functioning convent of cloistered Carmelite nuns. The church is open to the public and there is a small shop selling traditional confections made by the nuns, including a special sweet preserve of peppers and fruit unique to this convent.

Casa Jáuregui




One of the old bridges



Puka Cruz

Puka Cruz means "Red Cross" (puka = 'red' in Quechua, cruz = 'cross' in Spanish). Puka Cruz is one of the more traditional neighborhoods in Ayacucho and is home to many noted artisans and musicians. The cross is cleaned, freshly painted, and adorned on May 2-3, at the Feast of the Crosses.





Church of San Francisco de Paula (1713)





Templo de la Compañia (1605)

Built by the Jesuits and occupied by them until the Jesuit Expulsion of 1767.





Arco del Triunfo

The newcomer on the block, the arch was built in 1910 de commemorate the May 2nd, 18886, naval battle against Spanish forces attempting to retake their former colonies. It was remodeled for the centennial of the Battle of Ayacucho in 1924.