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Things To Do in Sucre

Plaza 25 de Mayo

  • Plaza 25 de Mayo
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The Country’s Central Plaza

Metropolitan CathedralMore Photos



The most distinctive feature of Spaniard colonial towns is the central plaza, which serves them as an administrative and cultural centre. Standing at the plaza's centre, a glance is enough to identify the importance of the town and if there is something special in it. Even without knowing Bolivian history, it is easy to see that Sucre's plaza is unique, that something special happened here.

Independence

Despite the town's tiny size, its main plaza is huge. The cathedral by its side is monumental. The administrative centers - belonging to the town and the province - have national proportions. Moreover, by the end of this quick glance, the eyes stop at a humbler building that does not fit into the list of regular structures in such a plaza.

The odd structure is the Casa de la Libertad, the Liberty House, where the Bolivian independence was declared almost two centuries ago. The house was built in 1621 as part of a Jesuitical Monastery and in 1624 was dedicated to the Universidad Mayor, Real y Pontificia de San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca. There, the assembly that declared the country’s independence met. Nowadays it is a museum.

To understand the size incongruence, it is essential to realize that Sucre is a bit off-side in the Bolivian map. The main routes connecting La Paz - the most important city in Bolivia and where the government is - with Argentina do not cross Sucre, thus the official capital of Bolivia is a semi-forgotten town amidst the mountains.

Following the Pacific War in 1879, the Bolivian government moved to La Paz more than a century ago and left Sucre to live alone with its memories.

Religion

The most distinctive building by the plaza is the cathedral, the Catedral Metropolitana, which was founded in 1559 and constructed between then and 1712, resulting in a building tastefully blending several styles, from Renaissance to Baroque with a few Mestizo influences. The cathedral features three naves and its main altar (Altar Mayor) is in Greco-Roman style with the gorgeous Cruz de Carabuco (Carabuco Cross) over it. The silver-adorned cross arrived from Carabuco, a settlement next to the Titicaca Lake, where another important cathedral is placed. Probably, this is the most beautiful cathedral in the country.

Next to the cathedral – and technically a part of the same building – is a museum with one of the best collections of sacred art in Bolivia. This is one of the best collections in Bolivia of Sacred Art from the 16th to the 18th centuries and it includes paintings, silver works and sculptures.

On South American Countries Political Structure

Next to the cathedral is the Prefectura, the administrative centre of the "Departamento." For the traveler in the Spanish speaking parts of South America it is important to understand that countries that were part of the Viceroyalty of Peru are divided in "departamentos" and those in "provincias," while countries that originated in the River Plate Viceroyalty are divided in the opposite order, first in "provincias" and those in "departamentos."

The obvious exception is Uruguay which was part of the last but is divided only in departamentos, that is because it was a province of what later became Argentina.

The Prefectura includes interesting casts representing the different Bolivian provinces and in that reinforces the feeling of being at a location of national importance. Continuing the walk around the plaza, the Casa de la Libertad is reached and a bit afterwards the municipality building. The last is worth visiting for a beautiful vitrage in its interior depicting an indigenous woman posing as Justice.

Other Buildings

The next side of the plaza includes commercial structures, and the last one hosts the ASE - Asociacion Sucrense de Ecologia - where embalmed animals from the different Bolivian habitats are showed, from condors lacking a few feathers to strange looking mammals. Next to it is the Museo Universitario Dr Alfredo Gutierrez Valenzuela.

In the Plaza

At the plaza's centre there is a statue honoring the Mariscal de Ayacucho and celebrating the centenary of the 25th of May 1809 insurrection, which preceded (and prepared) the declaration of Bolivian independence by sixteen years.
From journal Sucre: Dream Capital