The art of ruins.

(February 2, 2009)

One of our highlights in Paraguay was exploring the sites of Jesuit ruins in the villages of Trinidad and Jesús. We first visited the ruins in Jesús, where we arrived after a haphazard car ride venture. After waiting at a bus stop for a bus that never came, we were offered a ride by a guy who seemingly took himself for a taxi driver. We met a couple from Ireland who were also trying to get to the ruins, and so we agreed to hop in together and share the ride there. There was a decent-looking white car parked nearby (which we assumed was the taxi), but then the guy had us follow him a little farther to where his actual vehicle was parked. Under a tree, almost hidden in the woods, we came upon what looked like an old, abandoned car. Well, calling it a "car" is putting it mildly. At first glance, we didn't even think it had a motor so much so it was rotting and missing pieces. It looked like nothing more than a huge piece of scrapyard junk on four wheels. And we were indeed right about the missing pieces, since the car was lacking, among other things, a starter. We then realized why it was parked uphill off the road - to start the engine, the guy had to release the brake in order to accelerate down the hill.

We exchanged skeptical looks with the Irish couple, who were also chuckling discreetly. The Irish guy was sitting up front in the passenger seat, where the door almost fell off after he had tried closing it. The interior of the doors was pure metal with wires sticking out everywhere. There was barely no lining inside the car and no rearview mirrors, lest the one dangling on the driver's side, which our chauffeur casually held in place with his hand. It was all very reminiscent of our previous scrapyard-bus ride to Ybycuí.

Oh but it was all for the sake of adventure, we told ourselves. At least that was until, not much farther ahead, we saw a rickety bus stranded on the side of the road. We soon figured that was most likely the bus we had been waiting for, and that one of the wheels it was missing was probably the reason why it had never showed up. And so, ironically, we were reassured to know that our decision to get a ride down the deserted cobblestone streets in the dilapidated car had actually been a wise choice. And, as it turned out, the safest of two options. Almost impossible, but true.

In the end, the sketchy and bumpy ride was well worthwhile for what awaited us on the outskirts of the village. A field of grand, historic ruins. The Jesuit ruins in Paraguay are some of the best preserved works and dreams of early Jesuit missioners during the colonization of South America in the 17th century. The missions were created in 1609 and developed for over 150 years, much to the benefit of the indigenous Guaraní people, whom the Jesuits befriended and protected in the vast area of lands granted to them by the King of Spain. However, with the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1767, all of their hard labor and good intentions were reduced to ruins, now merely proof of their existence.

But the proof is so much more than crumbling concrete and stone structures. Their was an ancient smell in the air, walking among the ruins, admiring the labouring efforts of Jesuit missionaries who built walls for their homes and temples on the very same grounds, centuries ago. Their dedication, still evident in the details of their work, is absolutely impressive. As it has been too often the case in history, what a shame the Jesuits were expulsed from their native settlements. Observing their unfinished works, we could not help but realize how much greater the potential of their impact could have been.

There was no one else was around. It was just the two of us as we walked around for hours admiring the ruins, with a lingering presence of history in the air.