CAPITULAR HALL

It evokes the place where, on the 29^th of June 1810, Santiago del Estero’s support to the revolutionary process that had been initiated in May in Buenos Aires, was decided, once Salta’s stance, the city on which it depended, was known.

The Capitular Halls were the place where the governors met with their town councillors and mayors to discuss political, economic, and judicial matters of the city during the XVIII century.

Cabildo Meeting room: This room recreates the meeting room inside the Cabildo.

The Cabildo was the colonial government building where legal, political, civil, economic and social community problems were discussed and solved. This was the most important institution. When a city was founded, the principal square was the first place to be delimited. Then, the Cabildo location. Here is the phrase “There’s no city without a Cabildo and no Cabildo without a city”.  Nowadays, the Cabildo is known as the Town Hall.

The austerity of this room furniture shows us a very simple life, mainly at the end of 17th century, when Santiago lost the central government authority and started to depend on Salta. This place simplicity gives us a feeling of “nothing ever happened”. Nevertheless, this space recalls to an important moment in the local history. It recalls to the bustling June of 1810, when the only worker on the Cabildo, Mayor Domingo Palacio, received news about the Revolution from Buenos Aires. The news had a delay of fifteen days, but that was the time a chasqui, a messenger, took to travel, as fast as he could, from Buenos Aires to Santiago del Estero.

This big announcement revolutionized the community peace and required the presence of the rest of Cabildo workers. They were on their own matters: taking care of their private affairs at home, their work or the indigenous people under their command.

This piece of news took them for surprise and got them bewildered. Meanwhile, news about people who were against the Revolution arrived from Córdoba. However, Santiaguenian had to wait for orders from Salta.  In the meantime, the question was: what shall we do?

Let’s imagine the increasing tension in this room. People from one side to other. Discussions, shouts and fights between the Spanish and the Criollos groups. People mistrusted the revolutionary intentions of the Cabildo workers because they named to Juan José Lami as a congressman for the Buenos Aires “Junta”. Juan Francisco Borges, a man who were against Spanish government, was the first one to oppose to this designation. He took his claim before the Primera Junta, the first national government, which decided on his favor and ordered a new voting.

On the other hand, Juan José Castelli, leader of the Revolution army, arrived to the province and Santiaguenian people finally decided to support the Revolution. Some people gave money or resources, and others gave their slaves to the army.

Meanwhile, Juan Francisco Borges founded the Cuerpo de PatriciosSantiagueños, a military force with 317 men prepared and costed by Borges himself. Later, these men joined the North Army. Nowadays, we are proud of having the PatriciosSantiagueños as the Honor Force which takes care of the governor and also of the Centro Cultural del Bicentenario building.

Lic. Alicia Guebel