Iglesia de San Juan Bautista

Approaching the Church of San Juan Bautista from the vast central plaza, the exterior architecture initially appears deceptively modest. The white facade, adorned with an archway featuring simple, brightly painted floral and…

Crossing the threshold into the interior of the church delivers an immediate, overwhelming shock to all the senses. The conventional architecture of Catholicism has been entirely dismantled. …

As your eyes adjust to the gloom, you will notice numerous crosses throughout the sanctuary and the surrounding areas. To the uninitiated, these confirm the Catholic nature of the space. …

Lining the walls of the church are massive wooden vitrines, essentially glass display cases, housing dozens of statues of Catholic saints. Some are dressed in traditional European robes, while others wear the indigenous garments…

Focusing our attention back to the floor, we observe the primary actors in this sacred theater: the shamans, or 'curanderos.' These individuals, predominantly women, are the spiritual diagnosticians and healers of the community.…

If you observe carefully, you may witness the climax of a severe healing ritual, a practice that often shocks the unprepared traveler. To extract a particularly stubborn illness or curse from a patient, the curandero will pass a…