Tonight, the 21st of September 2015, I was lucky
enough to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the opening of Catedral
Basílica Menor San Lorenzo, located in the very center of Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
Circa 1887 – 1897, 110 years after the original cathedral of
Santa Cruz (St. Francis Church) was damaged, two missionaries took the
incentive to re-erect the cathedral, and created a plan. Two generations of Bishops later, in 1915,
the plan was finally finished and the cathedral was in use. In 1984, Pope John Paul II through a special
decree, “Constat Sane Templum Sanctae Cruci”, raised the cathedral’s status to
the status of Basilica because of its historical importance and antiquity.
Tonight I, along with a thousand others, sat in the Catedral
Basílica Menor San Lorenzo to celebrate it’s 100th birthday with a traditional concert,
and speeches from the mayor of Santa Cruz as well as the governer of the Departamiento del Santa Cruz (one of the 9 Bolivian regions).
The artistic framework and details of the church left me in awe and the
concert was exquisite.
After the performances, my host parents and I were escorted
to a decorated and closed-off courtyard on the side of the building where the
servers walked around with wine and fancy hors-d’oeuvres. While socializing we were surprised by a
celebratory firework show right over our heads; it was gorgeous. Towards the end of the firework show, I received
a tap on the shoulder from Ruben Costas, the current governor of the
Departamiento del Santa Cruz. I was
quite startled to be shaking hands with the same man who received a standing
ovation while being escorted to his seat prior to the performances. However, once I got over the initial shock, I
enjoyed talking to him and received a kind welcoming to Bolivia. He told my host parents that I would be a
Camba (a local Santa Cruz person) in no time.
Overall, tonight was a spectacular night. ¡Felicidades, Catedral Basílica Menor San Lorenzo!
