Church of Santa María de la Asunción

There’s a bridge over De La Paz Avenue that you just have to climb to reach Iglesia de Santa María de la Asunción. It’s a gothic church with a Latin cross. Its main facade features neoclassical columns and an arch encompassing the main entrance. Though the 19th-century construction is colored yellow and sits alone in its atrium, you need only climb the belltower to understand that it’s the mist-filled hills and not the church walls that guard the Holy Virgin.

Inside, the robust architecture includes two barrel vaults with beams mounted on cantera stone ashlars that combine and terminate in a splendid copula. Depicted on this dome vault are the four annunciations to Mary and her assumption in body and soul to heaven. Below, the Virgin awaits at the altar with open arms. Surrounded by angels and cherubs, she has her eyes set on the oil painted heaven of the copula. An enormous chandelier hangs from this vaulted ceiling, adding glitter and shine to one’s encounter with the Queen of Tetela. In March 2012, the church earned the title of Church of the Year.