Tourist destinations in the Province of Misiones , Argentina :A river of myths and legends runs through the Province of Misiones'land which makes it a different and wonderful province, where the magic outdoes any other reality, mingling itself with everyday life up to a degree unknown in other places.

This province was formerly inhabited by the Guaranies natives ,who used to be farmers, ceramists, musicians  and skillful  sailors. They had semi-sedentary habits and tried to settle near a river where they divided the land into sectors for hunting and for growing crops, the latter being previously deforested and cleared. When the soil stopped being productive they moved to another place. They built four or eight houses per village using tree-trunks, wood and straw.Each dwelling place was prepared to shelter several families. They employed weapons such as the "macana" ( a kind of cudgel), arrows with  tips made of wood, horn, bone or fins. They followed a patriarchal and aristocratic social order , there were the "mboyá" ( the people) and  the "tubichá" (the chiefs) who formed "classes"  though not "castes".

The Guaranies had polygamous families especially those from the higher classes .Adultery by women was not tolerated. They believed in one Creator God whom they called "Tupá", they also thought that the soul was immortal  and there were wandering demons or "añaes". The Guaraníes did not have idols or religious sacrifices , but they did have wizards or "chamanes" who performed various magical tricks. Between 1609 and 1767 , the territory occupied by the Province of Misiones at present north was of an  unmatched socio-cultural experience in the  world.   "Jesus Company 's" priests arrived and achieved, by  means of the "Cross", what the Spanish  laymen  could not with their swords : To group and work  with the Guaranies natives. The priests learnt their language, their habits and way of lift and they kept the existing social order. Every  mission had 20 and 50 chiefs and they all participated in town  councils. In this way , 30  towns were organized with a population of over 100,000 aborigines.
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Everybody worked in the settlements (see the illustrations on the wall in one of the ruins ). The lands for farming were divided in "Abá-mbaé" (man's issues) and "Tupá-mbaé" , (God's issues). What was produced by the first was destined to the Guaraní and his family ;  and with the yield of' the second , they supported the "cotiguazú" (a house for women living alone ) the church, education and other cultural subjects. Despite this  differentiation , work always involved the whole community. Men were in charge of the rural jobs : carpentry, ironworks, trades teaching, and various kinds of handicraft  while women looked after their children, cooked, span, knitted and did the housework .Men as well as women would take part in the artistic and religious activities which were extremely important in the Missions.
The architecture, especially related to their churches, was colonial or American baroque style. The urban design (see left , the scale model as example ) was quite similar in all the settlements. The structure stemmed from a center which was the "square ", where the church stood out, completed by the priests' residences, school and workshop on one side, and the  "cotiguazú" and graveyard on the other .The houses and the town hall were on the lateral sides of the square, followed by the lands for growing crops.
The Spaniards arrival to America gave rise to a process which brought about great changes resulting in a mixture of races, the endo-culturalization and doctrine training on spiritual matters summed up as a sort of integration of the two cultures. Sometimes strict to excess, other times being wrong, but with unflagging effort and sacrifice, the priests of  Jesus' Company founded 30 towns: 7 in Brazil, 8 in Paraguay and 15 in Argentina, 11 of which settled in the Argentine Province of Misiones  making this place the new destination of one of the greatest tourist attractions in the region. An excellent  proposal for a smashing trip through the roots of America.

Places where the remnants of an incredible human adventure live and palpitate.

San Ignacio, Santa Ana and Santa Maria are some of the testimonies of the thirty different towns of the Guarani Jesuit Missions. Each stone depicts the spirit of a deep union of cultures that amazes the world.

Location of the ruins in a piece of map of the Province of Misiones , Argentina .

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