Palacio de los Portales

Last Saturday our day hike of Tunari fell-through for the fifth time so we headed for an estate of a now deceased mining baron. The estate known as Palacio de los Portales. This place is similar to the Castillo La Glorieta in Sucre (from same period and category of owner) which frequently receives remarks like “[this is an example] of how wealth and taste do not do not always coincide” (though our guide book did not agree with this connection).

It was another superb Cochabamba morning and the grounds were conspicuous for their well maintained, lush presentation. This is an uncommon sight in Bolivia. It was not unlike visiting a compact version of the Wellington Botanic Garden and as such it was a pleasure when we had to wait for our friend Stephanie to arrive.

When our tour started it turned out that the guide was well read. She gave us a sound and appropriately succinct tour of the main house. There is a lot to see on the property (such as contemporary sculpture and other substantial structures like an outdoor concert area and remodelled stable). To have gone through the entire estate would have been lengthy. As it happened the main house supported a story that talked about the biography of Simòn Patiño (he, nor anyone, else ever lived in this house and as such it is in pristine condition), a history of Bolivia and an explanation regarding the property’s construction and the ruthless mixture European styles.

The best part of the morning for me was spent observing a white marble statue depicting a legend related to the St Bernard of the Alps of Switzerland. I got to do this while reclining on a park bench waiting for Stephanie. A classic and popular European myth our guide later said. While sitting a bird was over head hanging out with me. He didn’t make a lot of noise though his mates in the background were trying to get his attention. He just puffed up his chest and rigidly turned his head left and right, up and down. There was a light, cool, breeze that passed between my toes. Outside the grounds cars passed by and drowned out the bird calls reminding me that I was in the middle of Cochabamba.

I liked this moment because it took me back to the days when I could walk up the road and wander around the Auckland Art Gallery in solitude (until the redevelopment at least). In this depiction the dog was bigger than the girl. He loomed, dominating her form; a very masculine image. That aside, I liked the statue because it seemed to draw together the themes of kinship with animals (or at least dogs), fighting against the elements (which works as a metaphor), the notion of us all is being inside a single - shared - environment and finally the symbolism of books.

I also liked that I spent a bit of time thinking about the statue and then, of the hundreds of statues she could have commented on, our guide choose that one to open the tour with this one. It was good to have my own reflections supplemented with some actual facts.

It strikes me as re-assuring that I am typically compromised with my description of the palace. On the one hand I find it hard not to criticize the architecture for being inelegant and on the other I have an overriding memory of enjoying European sculpture at that very site which draws on my own experience of imitating “European culture” back in New Zealand (visiting art gallery).

Overall the Palacio de los Portales was a pleasant way to spend the morning: the dozens of contemporary sculpture, grounds composed by Japanese specialists, a unique story about the long gone wealth of Bolivia and some quiet time to look at a statue. It was a happy substitute for climbing a mountain.