Dominicas de la Presentación - Capítulo General 2019

La Turena, Bucaramanga (Colombia), 08/03/2019, Sr. Rosario Garcés del Castillo.- On August 3, invited by the Sisters of the Province of Bucaramanga, we went to the Chicamocha National Park, or Panachi, as it is also known. It is a Colombian natural park dedicated to ecotourism. It was built in the Chicamocha canyon taking advantage of its natural beauty and historical value.

There, we were able to visit the monument to “Santandereanidad”: It is one of the most expressive attractions in the region. The monument is built in the shape of a tobacco leaf, as a symbol of the common struggle of the “comuneros”. On the tobacco leaf the revolution of the villagers is artistically recreated in 35 sculptures created by the master Luís Guillermo Vallejo. The revolution of the “comuneros” was an armed insurrection in the Viceroyalty of Nueva Granada. The uprising took place in 1781, when the Spanish Crown enacted a series of laws that led to an increase in taxes for the inhabitants. At the beginning, the revolt was led by the most disadvantaged social classes but soon expanded and had the support of the wealthiest class. The figure of Manuela Beltrán (1724 - 1781) stands out. She was a woman from Santander who unleashed the great rebellion of the “comuneros” in 1781. She belonged to a modest family, a descendant of Spaniards who manufactured tobacco. She was "a woman of the town", but with a difference: she knew enough how to read to understand the text of the edict about the notification of the new taxes.

For the Chapter Sisters it was a day of sharing and learning about some facets of the culture and history of this Colombian region.