Baroque Temples with Indigenous Roots

Travelling sometimes requires feeling the fatigue of the journey and the stripping of the soul. The Andean Baroque Route winds through Cusco lands, amidst the landscape of the Peruvian highlands, where imposing and majestic mountains intertwine with skies of intense blue. When visiting the churches along the way, it is advisable to be captivated by both the altarpieces and the scent of eucalyptus.

The itinerary, managed by the SEMPA association, created by the Society of Jesus to preserve and enhance the cultural heritage of the area, is more than just a collection of beautiful churches. In addition to art, its sponsors aim to promote tourism and social development in the surrounding communities.

The International University of La Rioja (UNIR), through the Institute of Transfer and Research, has recently joined as an ally in the research and strengthening of the heritage management of the route. The institution will provide academic knowledge and practical tools to enable sustainable tourism development in the region.

The route is a journey with four stops - Cusco, Andahuaylillas, Huaro, and Canincunca - where European baroque is adorned with the finest native attire, intertwining colonial elements with surprising expressions of indigenous tradition. Thus, it is not uncommon to find angels playing charangos, the typical string instruments of the area; cherubs with Quechua features and gilded altarpieces with the unmistakable light of the Andean sun.

All proceeds have a social impact, as the money obtained from visits is primarily allocated to social works supporting women and children. UNIR's commitment to the Andean Baroque Route involves providing academic and methodological tools to strengthen heritage management from a sustainable perspective.

In this context, local communities are not mere extras in a beautiful setting. They are protagonists. They sell textiles, produce essential oils from native plants, and pass on ancestral knowledge, related to plants, oral history, rituals...

Stone by stone, mural by mural, school by school, something greater than a tourist route is being built: a different way of inhabiting the world. The Andean Baroque Route offers not only unforgettable views but also an inner experience, like the echoes of a Quechua mass or the fragrance of an altar filled with wildflowers.

In this sense, UNIR's work promotes the application of educational strategies that allow the local community, especially schools and students, to know and value their heritage. It also enables sustainable heritage management from the perspective of territorial development.