Catamarca - Culture

CATAMARCA, capital of the province of the same name, is a good sized city of 250,000 people located 840 miles northwest of Buenos Aires. With a history dating back to the 16th century and archaeology going back 10,000 years, there's lots of old stuff to see. The nearby Andes offer some spectacular views and the surrounding area invites sight seeing however it is principally a commercial city with a good business infrastructure. The influence of the Andes and the altitude of the city at around 1,600 feet contribute to cool evenings and some really warm days so be prepared with a sweater and sun block. The lover of the indigenous past will find remains of that civilization in all the territory of the province. Regional museums keep for the posterity testimonies from the primitive inhabitants of the continent.
In the Capital city, there is the Archaeological Museum " Calchaqui ", it was build by the Father Narvaez from Convent of San Francisco, today under the municipal administration.
Its halls summarize all the cultures that inhabited the ground of Catamarca, from the "Pre-ceramic" Period until "Delayed Land-potter" Period.

LA CUESTA DEL PORTEZUELO Located at 17 km from the Capital city, it is the referential geographic point of Catamarca. By this hilly road it is possible to ascend to the Ancasti hill and from there you can have a panoramic view of all the central valley.
This excursion is a must to landscape lovers. The travel agencies include in the city-tour the Church of the Chacarita, the Way of the Virgin, the Monument to Felipe Varela and the Church of San Isidro. When they return, they savour some candy or buy some crafts in the Portezuelo Village and continue by Fray Mamerto Esquiu.

FRAY MAMERTO ESQUIU This department of the central valley, 14 km from the Capital city, counts with diverse tourist attractions. The tourist can choose from religious places to the craftsman work, passing through the figure of Fray Mamerto Esquiu (El Orador de la Constitucion) with the house where he was born and, in the Church of Piedra Blanca, the pulpit where he said the famous sermon, and the monument erected in a hill next to the church.
There are also the Church of Santa Teresita and the one of the Señor de los Milagros.
The crafts are weaves, woollen ponchos, shawls, scarfs, puyos, etc.
It also has a school factory of ceramics with an excellent artistic production. They work with ancestral designs of our culture, maintaining their characteristic features faithfully.