The Kunza is the language of the Atacameños or Likanantai, a language now extinct, but spoken until the nineteenth century by the highland people of Chile, Bolivia and Argentina.

Currently, songs and prayers are recited in ceremonies that locals have memorized without knowing the meaning of his words. These songs are presented annually for the cleaning of channels.

Though they say it is a lost language, there has been a dictionary developed with these words to restore this valuable cultural legacy of Atacama. In San Pedro you can still find elderly people who remember the meaning of many words.

This is a version of Our Father on Kunza:

“tican cunsa hirico is astansi i cotas cielos.
santi hijia chea vaclo.
cum cachia chema reino lepalo.
as voluntas acquis en la oiri penii cachi li cielo.
hi tancta cumsa he capin vasina canalo aun capin.
i cum perdonácalo cun manuya acquis pen cuna perdonama cun deudorctpas.
i cum deja chacalo cum colac cutia y tentacioniyas.
hichucul cumas librácolo hiri malipanta.
i kis yaclo.”

Link: Spanish – Kunza Dictionary

Today I wanted to share with you a bit of the origin of the saint who gives his name to this town of Atacama.

Born in Betsaida to the Hebrew name Shimón Barioná (Simon son of Jonah), was a simple jew fisherman from Galilee who worked with his brother Andrew who would have been the one that introduced him to the ministry of Jesus. This is how he would become one of the twelve apostles and disciples of Jesus of Nazareth. The name Peter, the Greek word for stone, is given by Jesus when he is recognized first by Peter as the Son of God or the Messiah.

The Roman Church remembers him as the leader of his church and thus gives the position of being the first Pope. This, following the words of Jesus: “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the power of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven “(Mateos 16:18-19).

We know the history of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, through the New Testament where he is named almost 200 times. It is through these gospels that we also learn of the betrayal of Peter to Jesus when he denied Him three times when asked by Roman soldiers on the night of the death of Jesus. When Jesus resurrected he addressed to Peter in front of the other disciples and asked three times to reaffirmthe love for Him, and named Peter the pastor of his flock, which again reaffirms this saint as leader of the Catholic Church.

After the death of Christ, followed a series of events that would keep Peter as the leading apostle. Later, according to Catholic tradition, he would move to Rome where he excercised as a Bishop to finally die martyred under the rule of Nero in the Vatican Circus. That’s where in the fourth century, Constantine ordered the construction of the great Vatican Basilica.

In 1934, to verify that the Vatican was the tomb of St. Peter, began years of excavations and studies that ended in 1964, concluding that they had sufficient evidence to confirm that there were indeed the remains of the saint, his bones were red from having been wrapped in a cloth of purple and gold as the story said, and the bones were of a man of robust frame, who died at an advanced age and lived in the first Century.

Currently the popes of the Catholic Church, use the Fisherman’s Ring, with an image of St. Peter, the first pope.

Image: http://www.saint-name.com/

After having been several times in San Pedro de Atacama and have gone over and over through the most traditional rides, I  was recommended in my last visit to meet the wonderful petroglyphs in Yerbas Buena, on the road to Rio Grande.

Petroglyphs are drawings on rocks shaped by the first men, with records dating back to 10,000 BC to modern times. They symbolize the first vestiges of communication and writing among humans. While the name has become globalized, its origin comes from two Greek words meaning literally “carved in stone.”

In San Pedro you can find an interesting version of petroglyphs of which little is known, located in the valley of Yerbas Buena is created, according to one version, as signage on the route. What makes sense if we remember we are talking about the middle of the desert.

To reach them you must take the road to Rio Grande, and after seeing the rock art on the rocks, you should visit the spectacular Rainbow Valley owes its name to the many colors of the mountains, are basically in red, green, blue and yellow.

Finish the tour with a stop in the town of Rio Grande, a small farming village of garlic, onions and clay artisans.

It is certainly unusual for a tour and well worth visiting.

Picture: Mario Lecaros

San Pedro de Atacama in the beginning was the destination of travelers and backpackers, now it’s destination of tourists from all over the world who come to visit their various natural attractions and the Atacama culture.

The Church of San Pedro is one of the main focuses of attention, both because of the importance for the Catholic people who live here and for visitors who marvel at her beauty.

Located at one side of the square, you can easily recognize it by the whiteness and its greatness, that positions it as the most important in the area. The early records of the parish locate it before the year 1641, but its present walls date back to 1744 although were repaired between 1839 and 1943 after a fire. The Church, Andean style, is entirely of adobe and has a wall, of the same material, that surrounds it with three entrances crowned by an arch each. In its construction were used mesquite tables, leather straps, cactus, clay and straw. The tower was rebuilt in 1964 with the same materials, replacing an old one made of wood.

She was named a National Monument of Chile in 1951 and in June 2006 were the same people of the town who donated about 15 million pesos (USD 30.000) to paint and restore the exterior of the Church.

Definitely a true icon of Atacama.