Iruya

Iruya is a village in northwestern Argentina. It is the capital of the department Iruya in the province of Salta and administrative center of the homonymous municipality Iruya.

The village lies at an altitude of 2780 meters and is surrounded by the two rivers Iruya (also called Colanzulí ) and surrounded Milmahuasi.

In Iruya live about 1070 inhabitants almost exclusively indigenous descent. The main sources of income are agriculture and tourism.

Location

It is approximately 60 km to the border town of La Quiaca on the Bolivian border. In the west, 25 km as the crow away from Abra Pampa is the capital of the department Cochinoca the Province of Jujuy.

The pre-Columbian ruins of Titiconte are about 5 km northeast of Iruya. 8 km north of Iruya is the village of San Isidro, 6 km to the south is the village of Pueblo Viejo.

Climate

Due to its location at an altitude of 2780 meters Iruya has a temperate mountain climate. Almost all of the annual precipitation falls during the summer from December to March. During which time the temperature reached during the day up to 24 ° C. At night it cools up to 11 ° C. Often there is thunderstorm.

Autumn often brings frost and dry, comfortable days at about 20 ° C. In winter, lasting from May to September the days are characterized by a high temperature transition: During daytime temperatures rise up to 17 ° C, they sink at night to levels well below zero, down to -10 ° C. Winter rainfall is rare because of the drought in this period.

Also the spring has warm days and cold nights. The maximum temperatures during this time are the same as in summer, but the nights are much colder. In the morning it is sometimes frosty.

East of Iruya, where the foothills of the Andes often exceed 1500 mm annual rainfall, the rainfall is significantly higher than in Iruya. In contrast, there are 200 mm in the western highlands. Iruya lies between these two areas.

History

Iruya was founded in 1753, the first residents, however, already settled about 100 years earlier there on. There were mainly Indians, the oldest roots go back to the Ocloyas, a people who belonged to the ethnic group of the collagen, which originate from the Kollasuyo, one of the four regions of the Inca Empire.

The first inhabitants lived from agriculture and livestock. Among other things, they built on corn and potatoes and coated sheep, goats and llamas on. Later Iruya was a stopping place for the transport of goods from the Puna highlands to the river San Francisco.

The name comes from the Quechua Iruya, the kingdom language of the Incas, and means something like " plenty of straw ."

Events

• The Carnival of Iruya begins each year with the Fiesta de la copla, every week- two and a half weeks before the start of Lent and ends on the day before Ash Wednesday.

• On the 1st of August, the three -day festival Fiesta de la Pachamama begins in honor of the deity Pachamama.

• On 15 and 16 August, the Fiesta de San Roque held a charge, a religious festival with local rites and traditional music of Iruya region.

• The Feast of Nuestra Señora del Rosario, the local patron saint, is celebrated regularly on the first Sunday in October. It will be from the Cachís with masks, representing the struggle between good and evil, listed ritual dances. Numerous pilgrims and traders celebrate with the locals.

• On November 1 and 2 take place All Souls ( día de las almas ), a Catholic day of remembrance in honor of the deceased.

Others

• Iruya belongs to the species-rich biosphere reserve of Las Yungas.

• 2007 turned the U.S. advertising agency BBDO in Iruya a promotional clip for the brewing Guinness. The film was shot entirely with the local population and has a budget of 20 million dollars, the most expensive of all the promotional films of Guinness. Movie: youtube.com.