You can’t see everything in Quito [1], but whatever you do, don’t miss Oswaldo Guayasamín’s masterwork. Completed three years after his death in 1999 by the Guayasamín foundation, the Chapel of Man (Calvachi and Chavez, tel. 2/244-8492, www.capilladelhombre.com [2], 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Tues.–Sun., $3) is dedicated to the struggles endured by the indigenous peoples of the Americas before and after the arrival of the Spanish.
Huge paintings fill the open two-story building, which is centered on a circular space beneath an unfinished dome mural portraying the millions of workers who died in the silver mines of Potosí, Bolivia.
Other works cover topics both heartening and wrenching, from the tenderness of a mother and child’s embrace in La Ternura to the gigantic Bull and Condor, symbolizing the struggle between Spanish and Andean identities.
In the center of the ground floor burns an eternal flame. Guided tours are offered in English and Spanish.
Visitors receive a discount on entrance fees if they visit both the chapel and the Guayasamín museum in the same day, although this is only possible Tuesday–Friday. The chapel is a 10-minute walk up the hill from the museum.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/ecuador-the-galapagos/quito
[2] http://www.capilladelhombre.com