Santos mestizos

Commented catalogue of the traditional folk art of portable altar boxes called "retablos" or "urnas" filled with brightly colored saint figurines arranged in intricate narrative scenes located in three churches of the town of Rinconada in the province ofJujuy (Argentina). "The figurative compositions of the ones of Rinconada are usually framed in the common Andean models, similar to those present in Bolivia and some areas of Peru. There appears, in general, a juxtaposition of iconographic elements of the European Christian tradition, with others of local roots, as in our case the llamas. It must be considered, however, that the association of some saints with the protection of livestock comes from a local or regional reinterpretation, as said before, for example, that of San Marcos -like in Peru- where Saint John the Baptist and his relationship with cattle and sheep." (HKB Translation) --Page 47.