San José de Chiquitos | |
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Coordinates: 17°51′0″S 60°45′0″W / 17.85000°S 60.75000°W | |
Country | Bolivia |
Department | Santa Cruz Department |
Province | Chiquitos Province |
Municipality | San José de Chiquitos Municipality |
Canton | San José Canton |
Population (2001) | |
• Total | 9,211 |
Time zone | UTC-4 (BOT) |
San José de Chiquitos, or simply San José, is the capital of Chiquitos Province in the Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia. It is known as part of the Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos, which is declared in 1990 a World Heritage Site, [1] as a former Jesuit Reduction.
The ruins of the mission of San Juan Bautista, one of the Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos, lie near the village of San Juan de Taperas in San José de Chiquitos Municipality.
In 1698, the mission of San José was founded by Jesuit missionaries Felipe Suárez and Fr. Dionisio Ávila. The mission hosted the Penoqui Indians. [2] [3]
Today, Camba Spanish is the most commonly used everyday language. [4] In the past, the Penoqui dialect of Chiquitano was spoken at the mission of San José de Chiquitos. [5]