Trazas de memorias desde dos cajas de madera de San Antonio de Padua en la iglesia y capilla de San Pedro Estación

María Carolina Odone Correa, Trazas de memorias desde dos cajas de madera de San Antonio de Padua en la iglesia y capilla de San Pedro Estación [Traces of Memories from Two Wooden Boxes of San Antonio de Padua in the Church and Chapel of San Pedro Estación]

This paper analyzes San Antonio de Padua’s wooden boxes, focusing in particular on the memories and narratives they store. My proposal is to inquire these memories throughout the boxes as objects that have a narrative, since they have a “social life” within the town of San Pedro Estación. This town is located in the Atacama Desert, at 3,240 mamsl, 80 km from Calama, and it is part of the Alto Loa area. San Pedro’s patron saint is San Antonio de Padua, and between June 12 and 15, its population celebrates his festivity. During this celebration, the wooden boxes have a special role. In this paper I will focus on two of the six wooden boxes, located in the town’s church and chapel. They are cultural objects with biographies, storing several social lives, connected to the town’s families. From this perspective, San Antonio de Padua’s wooden boxes can be understood as social footprints or tracks which anchor unique historical processes, located in the San Pedro-Inacaliri Basin and the Bolivian Lípez altiplano.

Keywords: Andes del Sur – Santolines – Wood Boxes – Memories – Diásporas