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Image / Village of San Agustín, San Agustín, Colombia, 1975

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Title
Village of San Agustín, San Agustín, Colombia, 1975
Creator
Cross, Richard, 1950-1983
Date Created and/or Issued
1975-08
Publication Information
California State University, Northridge
Contributing Institution
California State University, Northridge
Collection
Richard Cross Photographs (Bradley Center)
Rights Information
Use of images from the collections of the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center is strictly prohibited by law without prior written consent from the copyright holders. The responsibility for the use of these materials rests exclusively with the user.
The Bradley Center may assist in obtaining copyright/licensing permission to use images from the Richard Cross collection. http://www.csun.edu/bradley-center/contact
Description
A view of San Agustín, a municipality of Huila Department. There are many buildings, most of which are white. They all have clay tiled roofs. In the background of the image there is an extensive mountain with dense vegetation. There are also two unpaved roads that run through the town. There is also a church bell tower. San Agustín was founded during the Spanish colonial era in 1790 and is where the Magdalena River, Colombia's most important river, flows from. San Agustín is also home of San Agustín Archaeological Park, which houses the largest collection of religious monuments in Latin America, the world's largest necropolis, and has been the site of important archaeological digs and discoveries since its inception on November 20, 1935 by then Colombian president Alfonso López Pumarejo. In 1995, it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as its wealth of megalithic statues are a, "vivid witness to artistic creativity and imagination of a prehispanic culture that flowered in the hostile tropical environment of the Northern Andes." Richard Cross took this image during his work as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia between 1974-1976. He was assigned to work for the now Ministry of Culture and his assignment was to create a photographic record of Colombia’s archaeological remains.
Una vista de San Agustín, un municipio del departamento de Huila. Se observan muchos edificios, muchos de los cuales son blancos. Todos tienen techos de tejas de barro. Al fondo de la imagen se observa una colina extensa con vegetación densa. También se observan dos caminos no pavimentados que corren por el pueblo y un campanario de iglesia. San Agustín fue fundado en 1790 urante la era colonial española y es de donde emana el río Magdalena, el río más importante de Colombia. También es el hogar del Parque Arqueológico de San Agustín, donde se encuentra la colección de estatuas religiosas más grande de Latinoamérica, la necrópolis más grande del mundo, y ha sido el sitio de importantes excavaciones y descubrimientos arqueológicos desde su creación el 20 de noviembre de 1935 por el entonces presidente colombiano Alfonso López Pumarejo. En 1995, fue declarado Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO ya que su riqueza en estatuas megalíticas es un "vivo testigo de la creatividad artistica e imaginación de una cultura prehispánica que floreció en el medio ambiente tropical y hostil de los Andes norteños". Richard Cross tomó esta imagen durante su estancia en Colombia como voluntario del programa estadounidense Peace Corps entre los años 1974-1976. Él fue asignado a trabajar para el ahora Ministerio de Cultura y su asignación fue crear un record fotográfico de los restos arqueológicos de Colombia.
Type
image
Format
Photographs
image/jpeg
Color slides
Extent
35 mm
Identifier
99.01.RCr.sl.B17.04.25.05
http://digital-collections.csun.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p17169coll1/id/7580
Subject
San Agustín (Huila, Colombia)
Village communities
Aerial views
Place
San Agustín (Huila, Colombia)
Relation
99.01.RCr.sl.B17.04.25.05.tif
Richard Cross Photographs
California State University Northridge. University Library. Special Collections & Archives. Tom & Ethel Bradley Center

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