La Rioja is a city that almost didnâ€™t survive. Faced with unrelenting climate, indigenous rebellions and economic depression, it gained firmer footing in the second half of the 20th century. Today La Rioja has a healthier glow. The desert heat still dictates a long afternoon siesta, but once eveningâ€™s cool begins to slink through the streets, shops reopen. At the many sidewalk cafĂ©s around Plaza 25 de Mayo, the spot where this city was founded over four centuries ago, people gather for a coffee, goblet of Riojano wine or a light meal. Some folks stop into museums or catch a movie.
For over 10,000 years humans have lived in this Valle del Yacampis. Their descendents, the CacĂˇn, were an agricultural society that made beautiful pottery andâ€”so it seems by the sheer number of instruments unearthedâ€”lots of music. They protected the valley by a series of pucarĂˇs (fortresses) in the Quebrada Los Sauces to the west. Their world became discordant when, in 1591, Juan RamĂrez de Velazco and his Spaniards arrived to found Todos los Santos de la Nueva Rioja: All Saints, to call upon every holy soul in the calendar, to ensure the settlementâ€™s survival in a harsh environment.
These Europeans, however, were not good neighbors. They were greedy and enslaved the CacĂˇn. In response, the indigenous rose up in 1593. Franciscan friar Francisco Solano went to negotiate with the 9,000 warriors and 45 caciques determined to end the Spanish mistreatment. The army accepted peace on two conditions: that the alcalde (mayor) resign and NiĂ±o Dios replace him. Every December 31, this historical event is recreated in the Tikunaco, or Meeting.
The Tikunaco did not spell the end of problems for the Spaniards. For the next three decades, the CalchaquĂes, a northern nation, tried to force the Conquistadores out. The city was almost abandoned. But the Europeans dug their heels in, and eventually defeated Cacique ChalimĂn, whose head was displayed for months on the main plaza. La Rioja went on to play its roles in the Congreso de TucumĂˇn, San MartĂnâ€™s Andean campaign and the 19th centuryâ€™s civil wars, which ended with the battle at Pozo de Vargas, three kilometres (1.8 mi) north of the city (Av Caseros, 200 m / 660 ft west of Av Alem). The city experienced a boom at the end of the 19th century, but fell into a deep depression after the mineâ€™s bankruptcy and 1894 earthquake. Finally in the 1960s and 70s, under the governorship of Guillermo Iribarren and Carlos Menem (who later was Argentine President), the city and province crawled out of poverty.
Few buildings survive from La Riojaâ€™s colonial past. Iglesia San Franciscoâ€™s 16th century convent preserves San Francisco Solanoâ€™s cell and the orange tree he planted in 1592 (25 de Mayo and BazĂˇn y Bustos). Iglesia Santo Domingo, built in 1623, is the oldest church (PB Luna and Lamadrid). Another mid-17th century building is Casa de Pazos Moreira, which is now the outstanding Museo FolklĂłrico (Tuesday-Friday 9 a.m.-1 p.m., 4-8 p.m. PB Luna 811, Tel: 42-8500, URL: www.culturalarioja.com.ar. Entry: $0.60). West of town is Las Padercitas, a small stone chapel built around the adobe walls of a Spanish fortress where Solano lived while Christianizing the region. Next to it is Monumento al Tinkunaco, created by Mario Aciar in 1993. It is covered with carvings commemorating the meeting (Ruta Nacional 75, Km 7). Atop the hill behind Padercitas is the much-deteriorated PucarĂˇ de la Puerta.
La Riojaâ€™s Cathedral (1899-1926) is home to San NicolĂˇs de Bari, the cityâ€™s patron saint (San NicolĂˇs de Bari and 25 de Mayo). San NicolĂˇs receives many pilgrims who credit him with miracles. The antechamber of his ground-floor chapel is covered with devotos. The main chapel is upstairs, behind the altar. The Cathedralâ€™s apse has murals depicting La Riojaâ€™s history and veneration of San NicolĂˇs.
(Altitude: 498 m / 1,634 ft, Population: 143,684, Phone Code: 03822)
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