ABSTRACT
In the northern Argentinean provinces of Misiones and Corrientes, where the grand Paraná River flows from Iguazú Falls to meet the Paraguay River and the indigenous language of Guaraní is still spoken by many as a mother tongue, a deep religiosity pervades the culture. In Misiones, once the site of the famous Jesuit missions or reducciones (reductions), evidence of early conversion efforts are in ruins, covered by thick jungle foliage. In the capital of Corrientes, a colonial city founded in 1588, the spires of Jesuit, Franciscan, and Dominican churches remain signposts of a fierce evangelization. The cathedral harbors a vast (and undocumented) collection of wooden saints, many of which were carved in the 1700s by anonymous Guaraní artisans who learned their craft in the Jesuit missions. The oldest church, La Cruz del Milagro, houses a charred cross dating from 1592, a symbol of Christian supernatural power over attempts by hostile Indians to burn and destroy it. In the older neighborhoods of Corrientes, such as San Benito and Camba Cuá, household saints and virgins are paraded through the streets on religious holidays. 1
