The Estancia
A TRUE ARGENTINE EXPERIENCE
History of the Estancia San Agustín
The estancia, now expecting your visit, dates from the 18th century and was the original house of one of the most valuable estancias dedicated to cattle rearing by then.
It consists of a colonial house and a chapel which contains interesting old images such as a life-size Christ dating from the 17th century, a weeping Virgin and an 18th-century image of Saint Agustín, Patron Saint of the village.
Formerly, the estancia had everything necessary for domestic life in colonial Salta: a forge, a carpenter’s shops and a bakery. The surviving construction is surrounded by a beautiful garden with old trees and is on a hill from where you can enjoy a breathtaking view. Its one-metre-thick adobe walls, the time worn tiled floors, the Spanish tiles and the hand-hewn rafters are a testimony of the passage of time.
The original owners of San Agustín were important Spanish Families who had to emmigrate to Perú after the Revolution leading to Argentine’s independence. In its beginnings it was a cattle rearing estancia.
Later, General Güemes from here wrote a letter to General Belgrano, another important national hero.
The importance of the estancia in those years gave origin to the village named after it.
Background
Argentina
Argentina is a vast and magnificent country with an extraordinary variety of landscapes. It offers incredible contrasts from the subtropical North to Southern Patagonia.
Salta.
Salta Province is located in north-eastern Argentina 1600 km. from Buenos Aires. It has a population of around 1100,000 inhabitants and the temperature varies between 16 C and 28 C in summer and between 3 C and 21 C in winter. Salta city is situated at 1187 m. above sea level in the Lerma Valley, at the foot of Cerro San Bernardo.
San Agustín
San Agustin is a small village of less than 1000 inhabitants which grew many years ago around Estancia San Agustín. Dedicated to cattle rearing, the estancia dates from the 18th century and its original house was one of the most valuable of its time. The importance of the estancia in those days gave origin to the village named after it.
Items of interest
General Güemes
General Martín Miguel de Güemes, salteño, was – together with General Manuel Belgrano and General José de San Martín – a national hero who played an important part in the independence of South America. He was the only Argentine general killed by an enemy’s bullet
El Milagro (The Miracle)
The feast El Milagro is a very important event in Salta. The Lord and the Virgin del Milagro are both in Salta Cathedral and every 15th September there is an important procession in their honour. This procession is the high point of the celebrations which begin nine days before. It is the second most important religious expression in the country after the pilgrimage to the Virgin of Luján in Buenos Aires, Patron Saint of Argentina.
Mummies of Llullaillaco
The “Llullaillaco children” were offered up 6730 m. above sea level at the summit of Llullaillaco Volcanoe. Their tombs kept the secrets of an important ritual for five centuries. These children, who gave up their lives for a divine cause at the point nearest to the sun, now help us towards understanding the wisdom of the ancient andean civilizations.
The Chapel
The houses of the colonial estancias had a chapel generally next to the building, at the end of the verandah.
In Estancia San Agustín the chapel is separated from the house, which shows how important it was in the village.
It is 6 m. wide and 20 m. long and it has its own vestry. Among other images, there is a life-size Christ (1.73 m.) dating from the 17th century and an 18th-century image of Saint Agustín which has been venerated by the people of the village for more than 200 years.