So, this is a post I've been waiting a long time to write. two months in fact...man, time flies. I first heard about tierra santa from a student that I taught during my TEFL course practice teachings. She told of a Christian theme park on the outskirts of town that was truly worth the trip. She claimed that it was a magical and enlightening adventure, and had been three times herself. I didn't take the initial request very seriously, but as time went on I began to hear more and more about "jesus park". It had peaked my interest but no one seemed very interested in going for the longest time.
Finally sometime in April our old friend Monica and our new friend Ksenia came down to Argentina to pay us a visit. Whenever our friends visit (all of twice) we tend to knock a lot of the touristy things out of the way, and this time around Ksenia was particularly interested in a visit to the mystical jesus park. What ensued was quite the interesting insight into religion and religious exploitation. We were also fortunate enough to attend the park over Easter weekend on Friday, which is the day Jesus dies on the cross, which meant we were in for some extra treats. The pictures do most of the talking, but I'll try to provide some context. Overall, it really was a very, very weird experience but I would actually recommend going if you get the chance. I'm not sure why, but I would.
the entrance to tierra santa; "holy land"
for those that know me well, that'd actually make a sweet bank to wall right there.
there were lots of statues. lots of statues.
so this is where it started to get freaky. and awesome. soon we found the main pathway around the park being cleared and a fairly large parade coming through. The parade ended up being a full out re-enactment of Jesus' crucifixion...like FULL out. This would be Jesus getting his beaten and dragged to his death.
Jesus was pretty convincing
a little crowd participation. Don't think Jesus got help carrying the cross by a guy in blue jeans and adidas kicks
they went all the way up the mountain the in the middle and all over the park. In total they probably marched for a good 20 minutes
there were a lot of people in attendance
...is that a cross? is this happening?
oh yeah, it's happening. they're now "nailing" jesus to the cross
can you imagine seeing something like this in the states? I imagine someone out there would be offended. This was around the time the entire crowd joined in on a reading of the spanish "Our Father".
they weren't screwing around
the mountainside
don't forget to take your picture with the peace jesus, it's got to be good luck or something. You'll find this beaut located in the cave under the cabin. this place goes all out
make sure to attend the animatronic creation story spectacule. The whole creation of the universe is told by super deep and soothing voice (in spanish of course)
a little adam and eve introduction
and at the end the whole family comes out to play
they had tribute statues of all of the major religious thought leaders
including Gandhi, which I found pretty cool
and this one's just a little extra treat for you all
