Hello, All -

Today will be a short blog because I'm sharing only the pictures from the Casa de Libertad in Sucre. The other places we visited (at least the ones where I was allowed to take pictures) were all religious sites, so I thought I'd group them together next week.  I WISH I could remember everything the guide told us about the Casa de Libertad (House of Freedom) but unfortunately I can't.

The first thing she said, and this I won't forget, was:  "This is Bolivia's equivalent of your Independence Hall in Philadelphia."  Just thinking about it from that point of view made the visit more memorable for me.  Here are some pictures and what I can best remember about it.

This is what it looks like from the outside, and of course it is built in the Spanish style - a big square around a central courtyard.

This was the first room we entered.  I think it was the congressional assembly hall back in the beginning of the republic, before the seat of government was moved to La Paz.

This is a closeup of the "throne" - or at least the chair in which the president sat.

And another closeup of the ornate carving and trim around the sides of the room.



In the next room there was quite a lot of material about their War of Independence.  It went on forever.  Actually it was a combined resistance from the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia against Spain, because all those countries were included in the "Viceroyalty of Peru".  The flag flown by the rebels was blue and white like this.  (The original flag was under glass and looked as old and fragile as the shroud of Turin.)  Bolivia became an independent nation in 1825 and kept the blue and white flag until about 1850, when it was changed to its present colors (red, yellow, green).  The official Argentine flag is still this blue and white design, as you can see on the first picture below this.

This next picture is just for our friend Shawn (Kirchner).

The guide told us that the first president of Argentina was Bolivian by birth, 

a hero of the revolution, and his name was D. Nestor Carlos Kirchner.

This shows the Argentine flag as well as the Bolivian state seal on the right.

The plaque is modern; I'm not sure exactly why it was placed here so recently.

Bolivia and Argentina have been allies ever since the 1800s.

Also interesting:  the first president of Bolivia (General Sucre) was born in Argentina!

      This woman was a major heroine in the war.                         This is a typical mounted soldier.                                                                                          

This is a close-up of the woman above.

Her name was Juana Azurduy and she was a mestizo (mixed Indian and Spanish.)

She fought alongside her husband in the war and was so brave and effective as a leader, 

that she was made a Colonel.  She was the only high-ranking female in the army.

She lost her husband and 4 of her 5 sons in the war,

so you can see why she is considered such a heroine.

This is sort of a memorial to La Coronel.

Her ashes are in the little chest.

The sword is the one she used.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure what those things in the very front of the picture are.  (sorry)

This is a display from the same room . . .

. . . as is this sculpture portraying some of the soldiers (including La Coronel).















Next we visited a lovely room with some beautiful antique furniture and pictures of some of the military/historical leaders of the early years of the republic.

This is a portable desk (the part that's reddish-brown) which was used by the generals and so forth.

This sign, which you can just barely see fastened to the table below the desk itself, says:

"Field desk, used by the officials and other persons during the struggle for independence."

And here's what it looks like from the side, opened up. 

You can see that it would actually be pretty handy -  

- a place inside for all your writing supplies, and small enough to transport easily.

 This antique bench is outside the room described above, under a colonnade - a nice place to sit and look at the fountain in the courtyard.

And this is one view of the courtyard.

Next we went into a salon that had formal pictures of all the presidents (65 of them in 189 years of independence.)  Unfortunately all the pictures were under glass and I couldn't get good photos because of the reflection.  However, I loved these two examples of the way the haut ton dressed in those days.

This is a picture of the current president, Evo Morales.

He is an Aymara Indian and eschews the formal dress (and glittering decorations) of previous presidents.  He prefers to be photographed wearing a simple business suit - or so we were told.

Lastly we went into a salon that I suppose was used for social gatherings.

There were various miscellaneous "mementos", such as this hand-carved box with many drawers.

This sign explains that it was designed as an example of the Florentine School (of ??).
It IS beautiful.

This is what it looks like from the back.
All that wood is inlaid.

This is, I think, a harpsichord - and a very tiny one at that.

 Farron had me stand by it so you could see how tiny it is.

I'm not sure why these pictures were in this room, but . . . anyway,

 the plaque says:  "The three Incas who pushed the expansion of their empire to the Charqueño Territory in the 16th century."

And these are the three Inca emperors . . .

 

Also in this room was this authentic coat of chain mail, which dates back to the 15th century also.

The explanation below says:

"This coat of mail was used by the Spanish conquistadors who came to this region in the 16th century The coat of mail was made of metal rings 8 millimeters in diameter, and weight 8.5 kilos (or about 17 pounds).  When it was not being worn, it could rolled up and kept in a bag and thus transported more comfortably."

 

 We think this was a separate piece that perhaps protected the thumb, hand and wrist.

And finally, here is a picture of Bolivia's first president, General Antonio José de Sucre Alcalá (for whom, obviamente, the city of Sucre was named.)  He was the most famous and successful of the Bolivian generals during the war for independence.                                                                    

  And his lovely wife . . . I apologize that the light is so much better on her picture! 

 So . . . as a person who enjoys history, I found the tour fascinating and very enjoyable.  I wish I had taken more notes, but that probably would have been more than you really wanted to know, right?

That's all for today.  Have a happy, healthy, safe week . . . y vayan con Dios.