Missões Region: discover a destination for historical tourism – 03/20/2024 – Tourism

With more than 16 thousand square kilometers of area and 26 municipalities that together have approximately 314 thousand inhabitants, the Missões region, in Rio Grande do Sul, is a well-known destination for religious tourism, but it is also special for those who want to delve into history from Brazil and Latin America.

At the limits of the region, located in the west of the state, we have, as the southernmost point, Bossoroca. To the north, Porto Xavier. To the east, Eugênio de Castro. And at the westernmost point, the city of São Borja, land of Getúlio Vargas and João Goulart.

Among the 26 municipalities, the trip gains strength in Santo Antônio das Missões, São Borja and, mainly, São Miguel das Missões, where most of the ruins and visiting sites are located. But each of them has something that makes it worth the visit.

One thing that a born and educated São Paulo native like me notices, when he decides to live in Porto Alegre, is that the proximity to Uruguay and Argentina gives Rio Grande do Sul a special color. It is still a Brazilian state, but the The influence of South American neighbors is obviously greater than in São Paulo, which is more influenced by Italians, Japanese, Lebanese and Portuguese, as well as people from Minas Gerais and the Northeast.

In cities close to the Uruguay River, on the border between Brazil and Argentina, or the Jaguarão River, on the border between Brazil and Uruguay, or at any other point on the borders between these countries, the influences increase and we have another type of life, with its peculiarities. The resident of a border city practically has dual nationality.

In São Borja, Garruchos or Porto Xavier, to stay in the Missões region, the similarity of customs with our brothers is more sensitive, and as the border is with the north of Argentina, there is the same feeling of being “too far from the capitals” , to echo a famous lyric from the Rio Grande do Sul rock band Engenheiros do Hawaii.

Those who live closer to the border with other countries get used to a stronger feeling of brotherhood between countries, which is only harmed when exacerbated patriotism, or some circumstantial problem, prevents one from noticing the other.

The missions, also called reductions, were created because, from the Europeans’ point of view, “it was necessary to domesticate the other”, in this case, the indigenous people, giving them our religion, our customs, our language, our vices. It’s not a border problem, but it’s similar. “The other bothers me, because he doesn’t think and act like me.”

Since the 17th century, Jesuits have tried to catechize the Guarani people who lived in the region. The São Paulo bandeirantes practically destroyed the Jesuit reductions, which were then rebuilt to form the Seven Peoples of the Missions, between 1682 and 1706.

These are the Seven Peoples, in chronological order of foundation, with the current names of those that became municipalities in the future: São Francisco de Borja (São Borja), São Miguel Arcanjo (São Miguel das Missões), São Nicolau do Piratini (São Nicolau) , São Luiz Gonzaga (same name), São João Batista, São Lourenço Mártir, Santo Ângelo Custódio (Santo Ângelo).

The combination of the Jesuits’ knowledge with indigenous agricultural and livestock techniques made the region prosper, in a cooperative regime, until the middle of the 18th century, when new historical events shook the apparent stability of the Missões region.

Firstly, there was the Treaty of Madrid, in 1750, which demarcated new borders in the South American colonies and an important point in the long dispute between Portugal and Spain over the lands that today make up Rio Grande do Sul. Soon after, the Guaranitic War (1753-1756), in which the indigenous people sought to free themselves from the colonizers.

“Our wealth is our freedom. This land has an owner, and he is neither Portuguese nor Spanish, but Guarani.” The words of indigenous leader Sepé Tiaraju strengthened the warriors against the Iberians. His death, in the Battle of Caiboaté, in 1756, put an end to the war. His body was never found. That’s why they believe that Sepé ascended to heaven. Or rather, it became São Sepé, according to the name of a city further south in the state, between Santa Maria and Caçapava, outside the Missões region.

Anyone who wants to get to know this region, but doesn’t have time to explore it in its entirety, won’t miss out if they focus on São Miguel das Missões or a neighboring city. The Guarani Jesuit Missions tourist site, located in this municipality, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

In it, you can see how the reductions worked, where the church, the kitchen, the school, the indigenous people’s houses, and the bathrooms were located. The general presentation of the ruins and the museum located at the entrance for visitors, next to the symbolic missionary cross, already places us in the midst of an indescribable energy.

It is impossible not to be enchanted by the ruins of the church of São Miguel, built in 1735, in the Baroque style, by the Italian architect Gian Batista Primoli. When seen from afar, the front of the church creates an unforgettable landscape, which invites visitors to get to know it up close.