Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis

I visited Santa Ana and San Ignacio Mini on my way from Posadas to Iguazu Falls. Posadas, a city across the river from Paraguay, is a fine but unspectacular city, and I used it as a base to explore the worthwhile Parque Nacional Ibera, where you will see oodles of capybaras.

San Ignacio Mini, which sits in middle of the small town, boasts beautiful carvings. Although San Ignacio Mini is the most popular of the three Argentinian Jesuit missions among the Guaraní sites, I did not find it to be very crowded (July 2019). The visit itself can be done in an hour, unless you come across - as I did - a rolling swarm of caterpillars for the first time in your life and squat in middle of the ruins to observe it for longer than most people would.

Santa Ana (photo) is less grandiose and lacks the "wow" factor of San Ignacio Mini, but it is more quietly atmospheric. Very little of the Santa Ana structures have been restored, but they have been stabilized. Beside the ruins of the church is a more recent but neglected cemetery, which adds to the haunting feel of the ruins.

In summary, I found the two ruins to be very deserving stops (I spent a night in San Ignacio) on the way to Iguazu Falls. Although I enjoyed Santa Ana very much, if you only had time to visit one of them, I would prioritize San Ignacio Mini because …

I had the plan to visit both Loreto and San Ignacio Miní from Posadas including the light show in the evening and afterwards return to Posadas. I will highlight upfront: It worked out fine with public transportation!

Taking the bus from Posadas bus terminal which is about 5 km south of town center- easily reached by public buses- in the direction of Puerto Iguazù, I jumped off the bus in the middle of the highway 12 at a junction leading towards the really small village of Loreto. It´s about 45 minutes walk on the laterite dirt road until you reach the entrance gate of Loreto mission. I was almost the only one there at 3 p.m. on a sunny Wednesday. There is a visitor center with a 3D map of the mission where a female guide caught me and started introducing me to the mission. First of all I highlighted that I would like to go afterwards to San Igancio Miní which made her suggest that there is a 4 p.m. public bus that takes me from Loreto via Santa Ana (wrong direction) towards San Ignacio in about 45 minutes. 

In that sense she was speeding up a little her presentation but she did it really well. Only speaking Spanish with some English words we managed really fine with my Spanish and Jesuit knowledge at that stage. Most interesting for me was the motivation of the Guaraní to go into a Christian Mission. Without knowledge I would have …

Tucked away in a North Eastern corner of Argentina are three Jesuit missions. The Jesuits were granted the rights to operate independantly from the local government by the Spanish crown. Their goal was to spread Christianity to the locals. But they also protected the natives from the frequent incursions of slavers and brought some progress to the area.

Unfortunately, the right once granted to the Jesuits was eventually revoked as the king came to fear their independence. This was a trend across the whole of Europe. In the Spanish case the suppression came when the Spanish rulers tried to take more control of their possessions in the Americas.

With the Jesuits gone the whole system quickly fell apart as the economic system failed and the towns were raided frequently by slavers. Eventually, the cities were abandoned and the natives returned to their previous lifesystle. These sites turned into ruins and were absorbed by the jungle.

On my way to Iguazu from Posadas I managed to visit the three sites lined along Highway 12. They offer plenty of variety when it comes to the remains, the reconstruction and excavation..

Loreto: Nowadays covered in jungle this gives off a real Indiana Jones vibe. Some excavations were done, but they didn't do big restorations or clear the forrest. Loreto was also one of the largest Jesuit Mission, so I would definitively encourage you to make the trip here if you visit the missions.

Santa Ana: …

One year ago on a snowy night I watched the 1986 movie "The Mission", which covers historical events that affected the Jesuit Missions of the Guaranís in much warmer South America. The film highlights the love of music the Jesuits and Guaraní shared; at many of the missions the Jesuits taught the Guaraní people European choral music, as well as how to make instruments. The film also highlights the fallout from the Treaty of Madrid in 1750, in which the Jesuit missions faced the ceding of territory from the Spanish empire, which ostensibly outlawed slavery of the Guaraní, to the Portuguese empire, which allowed it. It was with this context in mind that I visited the San Ignacio Miní mission near Posadas, Argentina, in March 2016. The Baroque ruins are in spectacular shape, and show how impressive the main church must have been when fully intact. Around the periphery of the site were the remains of long barrack-style buildings, storehouses, and workshops. The Guaraní here were not directly affected by the Treaty of Madrid, since they were in Argentine territory, but I feel for the Guaraní who had to fight for their security at the missions in Brazil.

Logistics: The Jesuit Missions of the Guaranís can be reached by bus or private transportation in Argentina or Brazil. I took a day tour with a company from Puerto Iguazú to visit San Ignacio Miní.

Last weekend I visited the Brazilian part of this WHS, that is São Miguel das Missões. I had previously visited the Argentinian ruins of San Ignacio Miní, and these two sites are probably the best preserved of all inscribed Jesuit Missions of the Guarani ruins (the Paraguayan ones are a separate WHS).

The former São Miguel das Missões church has a remarkable façade and also a very interesting museum of guarani christian art, including a bell used when the mission was active.

There are some other ruins nearby, worth visiting, but only the São Miguel ruins were declared WHS in Brazil.

As far as the sound and light show is concerned I very much disagree with Davis C. Bales opinion. I saw the show in February 2010 and found it truly amazing! Excellent lighting, great effects and a good mixture between entertainment and information. I am a media engineer and have seen many multimedia shows before. And even with that background this show really stood out. So it looks like you have to go and see for yourself wether you like it or not. :-) The only thing that wasn't so great was that the mp3 player you get for other language versions didn't work properly. But still I loved the show!

How we got there: We took a bus from Iguazu to San Igancio. What you read in various forums is true: It is really no trouble at all to simply walk into the bus station and buy a ticket to go to San Igancio. Buses leave every hour or sometimes even more often. They drop you off right in front of the tourist info which comes in handy aswell. There we booked our next busride to Salta with Flecha Bus.

Oh, one more thing: If you use long distance buses, always put your luggage in a waterproof bag or something. Water from the aircondition flows on the luggage. One of your bags was soaking (with all clothes inside dripping wet). It also helps to ask the guy who loads your luggage into the bus to put it somewhere dry …

San Ignacio Mini is the most popular of these 'Missions' (the locals more aptly call them Las Ruinas). I went there by public bus from Posadas. This trip takes over an hour, passing fine scenery of endless green fields and forests. I was the only one to be dropped off at the church of San Ignacio, and was given directions by the busboy to get to my destination. San Ignacio is a sleepy little town, where the selling of souvenirs seems to be the main trade. Before entering the San Ignacio Mini complex, you first have to brave 250 meters of souvenir stalls.

The entrance was free today (normally it's 25 pesos for foreigners). I don't know why I didn't have to pay, it could have been a holiday / a protest / a malfunctioning computer / lack of change or whatever. I've been in Argentina now for less than a week, and I've seldom paid any entry fees (I rode for free in the Buenos Aires metro for 3 days). The same observation counts for the double pricing system: they do tend to differ prices between Argentinians, Other Latin Americans, and Other foreigners, but aren't strict in following this through: they just assume everybody is Argentinian. Personally, I can't believe the money they're throwing away (especially at the Buenos Aires metro, which could use some new paint).

Back to San Ignacio Mini - what kind of site is this? It was a small town with a church …

I visited some 20 Jesuit mission sites in Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil, including San Ignacio, Loreto, Santa Ana, and Sta Maria la Mayor. There are other mission sites in the region that need protection and the support that inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites lists confer. At the top of the list I would include several mission sites in Brazil, particularly San Lorenzo Martir, and San Cosme in Paraguay. Other sites, such as Corpus Christi and Martires, need protection and rehabilitation.

San Ignacio Mini is well worth the visit for anyone at nearby Iguassu Falls, whether on the Argentine or Brazilian side. Though there are guided tours available from Iguassu, driving on your own is quite easy. It is possible to drive to San Ignacio and back in the same day though spending the night adds to the experience. However, the town offers few accomodations, the best of which are hard-pressed to earn a 1-star rating. From Buenos Aires it is not so easy to reach Argentina's State of Misiones.

On certain nights there is a sound and light show. The slightest hint of rain and the show will be cancelled; the equipment is simple and not water resistent. So, as can be expected, the show is rather primitive and its simplicity could hardly be expressed as charming. Boring may be a better descriptive. The lighting is uneventful and the sound is a recorded narration (in Spanish) of the mission's history with some music of the jesuit-educated natives as a background mixed with some booms and crashes to depict the battles with they fought with the Brazilian slave traders. Not emotionally stirring!

In the summer it is barely dark when the light show begins, reducing even more the already limited effect. Needless to say, it was a disappointment and one should spend the night to experience the simplicity of the village and not for the light show. But catch it if you are already there and reach your own conclusions.

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