Santo Corazón

History and Background
There isn't a great deal that can be said about the hamlet of Santo Corazón, simply because there just isn't much to tiny Santo Corazón in the first place. The last mission founded by the Jesuits in Bolivia (but see Nuestra Señora del Buen Consejo), it was established by Frs. Antonio Gaspar and José Chueca as Santo Corazón de Jesús de Chiquitos in 1760 as a way stop along the road to Paraguay, at the junction of the Ríos Tucavaca and San Rafael. It was translated first in 1788 and again at some point later to its present location. Always the most isolated of all the Jesuit settlements (with the exception of the short-lived San Ignacio de Zamucos), it sits at the extreme southwest of Ángel Sandóval Province, all but cut off from the rest of the world. This isolation meant danger (a real threat until as late as the 1970s) from constantly warring indigenous factions, who hated the settlers only slightly more than other local tribes.

Life in Santo Corazón was (or is) not easy. The Jesuits were extraordinarily intelligent, but not infallable, and occasionally were outwitted by the indigenous peoples they sought to convert. Only three years after settling the town, one of its co-founders, Fr. Antonio Gaspar (Guasp in the native German) rode out to one of the near-by estancias (ranches) with only a token escort of Chiquitanos and some Guaycuru guides. The Guaycuru, long hostile to any instrusion into their lands, led Gaspar straight into an ambush, and the cacique (chief) Oyomadigo killed him. (Technically, Gaspar was killed in Brazil, not the Chiquitania, and thus cannot properly be considered a martyr of the Chiquitania.) Gaspar's colleague Chueca faired better, however. The following year, outnumbered 5 to 1, the Jesuit lured the Guaycuru leadership into the reducción, separated and disarmed them, and sent them to other missions as prisoners. That ended that threat.

After the Extrañamiento (1767) and a subsequent revolt against the secular clergy, most of the natives left. Incredibly, 62 years later many of them returned and set up shop as if nothing had happened. By the time the French explorer D'Orbigny arrived in town (1831), they essentially ruled the town, vastly outnumbering the handful of whites there. The cacique mistook D'Orbigny for the governour (the last time one visited Santo Corazón was prior to the Jesuits' expulsion) and insisted upon doing him homage.

Santo Corazón always served as a tantalising reminder that the Jesuit missions of Paraguay were geographically very close. In the Jesuits' heyday, the reasoning was that if only a way could be found from one to the other, there could be permanent communication and trade between the two mission groups. This was the same dream the Jesuits had held since Fr. José de Arce was commissioned nearly a century before to find that route and open it...the mandate that led to his and his companion Fr. Bartolomé Blende's deaths in Paraguay in 1715. This was also one of the principal reasons for Santo Corazón's establishment, as well as the reason for D'Orbigny's visit in 1831. But there never was any direct water access between Chiquitos and Paraguay, and the Bolivian government (and numerous private investors) finally threw in the towel in 1881 after a joint Bolivian-Argentine-British expedition concluded that a waterway between the two regions was only wishful thinking.

As with San Juan Taperas (formerly San Juan Bautista), a town exists, although it currently bears little resemblance to the original Jesuit-founded settlement. Unlike San Juan Taperas, however, "modern" Santo Corazón is the direct descendent of the original habitation; it was not re-founded. On the other hand, Santo Corazón has not exactly flourished, It was founded with 2,257 inhabitants; in 2010 just over 300 souls called it home.

Downtown Santo Corazón

What does one do in Santo Corazón? Outside of admiring the formidable scenery, you either ride with the herd or uh...perhaps go hiking? The church is a modern job, built in the last century and with nothing related to the original structure (which was probably very similar to the templo of Santa Ana de Velasco).

Local hot spots? None to speak of. Fascinating cultural landmarks? Zip. Amazing wildlife and stunning vistas? Yes, this being the spot where the Sureste Cruceño and the Pantanal overlap, you certainly will find plenty of both here, especially bird life. Beyond this, well, this is Georgia O'Keefe country. The area south of the settlement was home until recently to the last members of the now-extinct Otuquis tribe, for whom the massive Parque Nacional y Área Natural de Manejo Integrado Otuquis is named.