As time goes by, memories come to mind and how much History of this place, the Square, the Cathedral, the Archbishop’s Palace, the first hotel in the Plaza Grande (before land was donated to Pizarro) in front of the Carondelet Palace, was originally the Casa de los Montúfar that had Alexander Von Humboldt as a guest!!! and the demolition of the house in modern times ended its history… What photos I see, they inspire me and transport me back in time. What a moment and what an opportunity my tourists and I had. I remember from the angle I took these photos, (they still allowed me to be “there” without further protocol and without major inconvenience…then, snipers would occupy it!!!, for the security of the President at the time, they said…) the other photographs showed the complete setting that adorned the civic moment for the Country and there were children, everyday people, tourists and, adorning the environment, the Presidential Guard with all its Gala accompanied by its Band and beautifully dressed Horses!
My heart swells for my country! and since my father was a military man, I knew them many times since I was a child…! My tourists, comfortable and privileged taking thousands of photos from where we lived the Changing of the Guard, listened to me attentively and were “dumbfounded” by so much energy! a close past that was diluted… What a pleasure to know that today we are part of a territory that this April 11, after presidential elections, we gave ourselves another opportunity to be better…
I have not yet mentioned the monument of the Plaza Grande, Plaza de la Independencia, before Plaza Mayor…(very Spanish eeeh!!) which needs a separate chapter and I will point out why the Lion on the monument has an arrow through its body (which is stolen everytime) and the other elements that magically represent our History in sculptural forms that are worth a thousand words…
By Patricia Rivas
