Monkeys in the plaza

Santa María was founded in the 1630s as one of the Jesuit Reductions for the indigenous Guarani people, communities which flourished economically and artistically until the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1768 - more about that another day.

All the Reductions followed a similar layout, centred around a central square (plaza), which remains the heart of the town today. The church is on one side, the sewing cooperative workshop and the four-room hotel on another, and the parish centre and museum of Guarani-Jesuit art occupy the other two, both housed in original casas de indios. The large trees planted in the central space make it an oasis of shade from the blazing sun in the heat of the day.

The Plaza is home to a family of monkeys, which can be coaxed down with a banana...