Isla San Marcos & Santa Rosalia, Baja California
Religion has played an incredible role in the ethno-geography of the Baja California peninsula. Many books have been written and stories told of the Jesuit priests who “transformed” the peninsula and its native peoples starting in 1697 with the first attempt to build a mission in the peninsula at San Bruno, just in front of Isla San Marcos, the island we visited this morning. Strong north winds forced us to land on the extreme southern tip of the island where we hiked into the small town of gypsum mine workers and their families, also called San Marcos.
The highlight of the walk was the town church, built in the 1950’s. While there are many churches located throughout the Baja peninsula, this one is very unique. The entire church is built of gypsum, the soft chalk-like material that supports the mining operation here. The interest in gypsum itself started in the early 1700’s as a Jesuit priest named Juan Bazaldua came to this island to extract translucent gypsum sheets to be used as windows for the mission in Mulege. Interestingly enough, this island was then known as Galapagos Island, named in the 1500’s by Spanish explorers well before the archipelago of the same name off the coast of Ecuador was even discovered.
In 1925 mining rights were granted by the Mexican Government to a mining company named Compania Occidental Mexicana S.A. The company town sprang up around the mining operation and today around 700 people live in this small town. Virtually one hundred percent of the gypsum mined here now is exported to the United States for use in housing construction. As an added highlight, Father Roberto Navarro welcomed us into the church and showed us the remodeling works currently underway.
This afternoon on the Baja Peninsula itself we visited the town of Santa Rosalia and visited another very unique church. Tradition credits the design of this church to the renowned architect Gustave Eiffel and claims that it was shown in the 1889 Universal Exposition of Paris, France, along with the tower, and that it was awarded with a prize. Originally destined for construction in Africa, the French company director Charles La Forgue found it disassembled in Belgium and bought it in 1894. The church finally made its way here to the Baja Peninsula and construction was completed in 1895.
In the early 1990s Angela Gardner, an American architecture student who visited Santa Rosalía and examined the church, came to a hypothesis that the church design was from a different architect, belonging to the House of Duclo rather than Eiffel's firm, to the dismay of the locals, who believe this would diminish the appreciation of the building. As no historical record or blueprint has appeared, neither version could be confirmed and still remains as one of the many colorful tales surrounding the town.While admiring the church we were lucky enough to witness a confirmation ceremony being performed by a bishop from the La Paz diocese, decked out in full regalia. Today brought us a very special glimpse into the lives of local people here in the Baja Peninsula.
Religion has played an incredible role in the ethno-geography of the Baja California peninsula. Many books have been written and stories told of the Jesuit priests who “transformed” the peninsula and its native peoples starting in 1697 with the first attempt to build a mission in the peninsula at San Bruno, just in front of Isla San Marcos, the island we visited this morning. Strong north winds forced us to land on the extreme southern tip of the island where we hiked into the small town of gypsum mine workers and their families, also called San Marcos.
The highlight of the walk was the town church, built in the 1950’s. While there are many churches located throughout the Baja peninsula, this one is very unique. The entire church is built of gypsum, the soft chalk-like material that supports the mining operation here. The interest in gypsum itself started in the early 1700’s as a Jesuit priest named Juan Bazaldua came to this island to extract translucent gypsum sheets to be used as windows for the mission in Mulege. Interestingly enough, this island was then known as Galapagos Island, named in the 1500’s by Spanish explorers well before the archipelago of the same name off the coast of Ecuador was even discovered.
In 1925 mining rights were granted by the Mexican Government to a mining company named Compania Occidental Mexicana S.A. The company town sprang up around the mining operation and today around 700 people live in this small town. Virtually one hundred percent of the gypsum mined here now is exported to the United States for use in housing construction. As an added highlight, Father Roberto Navarro welcomed us into the church and showed us the remodeling works currently underway.
This afternoon on the Baja Peninsula itself we visited the town of Santa Rosalia and visited another very unique church. Tradition credits the design of this church to the renowned architect Gustave Eiffel and claims that it was shown in the 1889 Universal Exposition of Paris, France, along with the tower, and that it was awarded with a prize. Originally destined for construction in Africa, the French company director Charles La Forgue found it disassembled in Belgium and bought it in 1894. The church finally made its way here to the Baja Peninsula and construction was completed in 1895.
In the early 1990s Angela Gardner, an American architecture student who visited Santa Rosalía and examined the church, came to a hypothesis that the church design was from a different architect, belonging to the House of Duclo rather than Eiffel's firm, to the dismay of the locals, who believe this would diminish the appreciation of the building. As no historical record or blueprint has appeared, neither version could be confirmed and still remains as one of the many colorful tales surrounding the town.While admiring the church we were lucky enough to witness a confirmation ceremony being performed by a bishop from the La Paz diocese, decked out in full regalia. Today brought us a very special glimpse into the lives of local people here in the Baja Peninsula.
