A tiny, ancient village invites tourists with a charming historical tour.
A leafy grove of plane trees lines the sidewalks of the main street. This is Maipú Avenue. Along its banks are the oldest buildings that weave the history of the place: the movie theater, the first police station, the general store, the club, the library, the jail... All of these were the starting point for the realization of a project that seeks new opportunities for the town.
Tamberías , in southwestern San Juan, is one of the oldest towns in the Calingasta Valley. It was founded around 1866 in response to the mining development that had begun a few years earlier under the government of Domingo Faustino Sarmiento in the neighboring district of Hilario.
It had its moment; today it's a small town looking for a place on the valley's tourist route, dominated by Barreal, about 25 km to the south.
The idea was born many years ago. They had a very old architectural heritage, a testament to colonial San Juan. It was pure gold.
In 2010, the historic center became a Municipal Cultural and Historical Heritage Site. However, it wasn't until 2017 that the restoration of this area began. The facades of the most significant buildings were restored . Only the school was completely rebuilt using raw materials, as the rest are privately owned. All are part of a guided tour led by local youth. The initiative aims to breathe new life into Tamberías and provide a reason to stop and explore the town.
Today, Tamberías has only 2,800 inhabitants . Most live off public employment, while others work in agriculture. Garlic is grown here for export . A giant variety called "elephant's foot" is sold primarily to Canada. There are also vineyards , which gradually replaced the walnut and apple trees.
There's also a recently opened bridge connecting the town to National Route 149, the access route. But they miscalculated. When the Los Patos River rises, it's impossible to proceed. The bridge closes during spring and summer , leaving Tamberías semi-isolated. To get there, you have to go through Sorcayense to the north or Barreal to the south, neighboring towns that allow crossing this river.
The town had several names. It began as Villa Maipú and was renamed General Sarmiento in 1917. Finally, in 1937, it acquired the name Tamberías, as we know it today.
It's midday and the spring sun melts over the treetops that form a sort of large, green, generous and fresh gallery.
Gabriel Ivacache is waiting to show us around the old town. We meet him at the old school: it dates back to 1890 and was the first in the Calingasta Valley.
It was founded out of concern among residents regarding the growing illiteracy rate in the area. Two neighbors, Manuel Collado and Manuel Arias, donated the space. Initially, it was run by a duo of women who worked pro bono and belonged to the most educated families in the region. Miss Severa Romero and Miss Vicenta Tell , who were not teachers but knew how to read and write, took care of the first students. It wasn't until 1897 that the province recognized the school, and it remained so until 1906.
The building that remains today is only a part of the original and is the only building on the circuit that was completely rebuilt, apart from the façade. It serves as a museum to give us an insight into the school day back then and also as a starting point for the tour.
The museum school once had five or six classrooms; today, two remain. The building is immaculate. It was restored by " los horneros," skilled workers who reproduced the construction model of the time: rammed earth and adobe . They learned the ancient techniques and know how to replicate them with modern materials.
The design at that time consisted of three walls , one above the other, each half a meter high and 60 to 65 centimeters wide. Adobe bricks were placed on top of them to support the weight of the roof. For this reason, the walls and doors are higher than usual.
The rammed earth resembles modern-day concrete: a wooden mold filled with mud. It was then plastered with an elastic compound obtained by adding milk and fat to the mud. The formula had anti-seismic properties and was used for the interior, exterior, and roof, which was generally made with reed, totora, or booby plants and wooden beams. Later, these plants were replaced with reed matting to prevent vinchucas (bugs).
The rest of the tour follows the next fifteen blocks of Maipú Avenue. We continue along with Gabriel, who explains the secrets of each building with a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm. A native of Tamberías, he is one of the young guides who turns the visit to the town into a pleasant journey back in time.
We start at the site of the first police station, which is now the headquarters of the Tamberías Sports Club . Another project is in the works there: a Calvados factory, a kind of apple-fired water , very popular with miners, who plan to revive it as another attraction.
Right there, the town's first bar, also a grocery store. It was run by owner Gustavo "Chavito" Cortez. It was the busiest place in town, boasting a huge dance floor—the largest in Calingasta—and attracting people during weddings, birthdays, and New Year's parties.
Further on, in the first prison of the department, Eusebio de Jesús Dojorti, known as Buenaventura Luna, a poet, musician, writer and journalist from Huacachina, was imprisoned .
Dojorti was sent there for his staunch opposition to the conservative government of Federico Cantoni at the newspaper La Montaña . He was held there, chained up and malnourished with other editors and comrades for 77 days. He managed to escape thanks to the help of a prison guard who had worked on his father's farm. He fled with his companions to Mendoza on horses that had been shod backward, a ruse that allowed them to mislead the jailers.
In a town like this, a movie theater was a must. The space was originally used to pack apples, one of the key products of those years. In 1966, it was repurposed as a movie theater.
Don Roque, the owner of the establishment, showed movies on Sundays, black and white films, sometimes cut, which nevertheless attracted the public.
Four years later, the cinema passed into the hands of Hipólito Uliarte . He invested in a new projector and decided to open on Saturdays and Sundays. He set up a kiosk to spice up the evening with sweets and made it a habit to place an attractive poster on the door announcing the week's film.
The Pío Cristino Gallardo Public Library dates back to 1912. Its members worked closely with the local Development Society. Back then, the townspeople would gather there to prepare the mincemeat for cakes and empanadas, which they then sold at the nearby soccer field. They then split the profits: half for sports, half to maintain the library.
An old dovecote, the Army of the Andes school, and the Nuestra Señora de la Merced church (1906) complete the tour, which ends at one end of the town. There, a metal structure holds a totem pole with the face of Chief Calín , from whom the Calingasta Valley (Calín's town) supposedly takes its name. Higher up, the figure of an Andean condor completes the ensemble, and the viewpoint invites you to take a final panoramic view.
TAMBERIAS HISTORIC CENTER
T: (264) 45-86073
T: (264) 417-6180
Every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. In summer, they often change their schedule, including a midday break. Check by phone before going. They depart from the school museum.
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