Beyond Buenos Aires: Documenting an Andean Pilgrimage in Jujuy, Argentina

In Argentina, the production of open knowledge within the Wikimedia movement reproduces the territorial asymmetries that have historically shaped the country. Infrastructure, resources, and influence are concentrated in Buenos Aires. As a result, certain territories, languages, and experiences have been systematically documented more than others, resulting in a form of documentary inequality: it determines which memories enter global digital archives and which are left out. This poses a challenge for the movement in Argentina: advancing toward genuine federalization so that more voices, memories, and forms of knowledge can enter open digital archives from their own territories.

In this Diff post, I present a concrete case that seeks to contribute to that goal. Drawing on my experience as a member of the Indigenous community of Purmamarca, in the far northwest of Argentina, I document the Andean pilgrimage to Punta Corral and share insights that may be useful for other Wikimedians working in peripheral contexts or with situated cultural expressions. This article launches the Beyond Buenos Aires series, an ongoing effort to open up these discussions through grounded practice.

Each year, more than 160,000 people face the cold and high altitude in the heart of the Quebrada de Humahuaca to fulfill a promise. This is not merely a Catholic procession, but an Andean pilgrimage: a journey marked by sacrifice, physical endurance, and a deep connection with Pachamama and the Virgin of Punta Corral, locally known as the “Mamita del Cerro” (“Mother of the Hill”). This local Marian devotion dates back nearly 200 years to its appearance in 1835 and has fostered a steadily growing faith community of pilgrims who undertake journeys lasting between 6 and 18 hours on foot, depending on the starting point, altitude, and individual conditions.

Within this context, there are four main routes, each with its own character. The Tumbaya route (22 km, around 12 hours) is the most frequented and of moderate difficulty. The Tunalito route (15 km, 5 to 8 hours) is the shortest in distance but includes steep inclines. The Maimará route (17 km, around 10 hours) offers striking landscapes, including the iconic Paleta del Pintor (Painter’s Palette). The Tilcara route (25 km, up to 12 hours) is the longest and most demanding, typically undertaken by more experienced pilgrims.

What distinguishes this pilgrimage globally are the sikuri bands. They do not merely accompany the journey: they structure it. These musical groups perform using panpipes (zampoñas), wooden and leather drums, as well as ancestral horns and cornets. This practice reflects a direct relationship with the environment and a body of technical knowledge transmitted across generations. One of the most representative photographs of this process is captured at dawn, when sikuri bands and pilgrims advance together toward the horizon, the sound of their instruments setting the steady rhythm of the ascent.

From my perspective as an Indigenous Wikimedian from the Purmamarca community, documenting this experience on Commons and in this blog is also an act of producing situated knowledge. When someone with my background uploads images of the ascent, the sikuri bands, or the Virgin of Copacabana of Punta Corral, they are not only expanding the available visual archive; they are also ensuring that when this pilgrimage is represented, Andean voices are part of the narrative, rather than being portrayed exclusively through an external lens.

Throughout this process, I identified several transferable lessons for other communities interested in documenting their own cultural and territorial practices. First, documentation at Punta Corral is not comparable to a simple excursion; it requires respecting the rhythms of the pilgrimage, including moments of rest and collective participation in the ritual. Second, situated authorship provides documentary legitimacy, but it does not exclude other perspectives; rather, it acknowledges that certain records gain greater integrity when produced from within the community. Third, the documentary value of Wikimedia Commons is strengthened by capturing the landscape, material, and human details that make a practice unique: from sunrise along the trails and families ascending together to changing landscapes, mountain camps, and panoramic views of the crowd from above. Finally, the process also required recognizing ethical limits: at times, the camera had to be put away to avoid interfering with the sacred nature of the ritual (which is why images of the Virgin inside the chapel are not included). Documenting thus became a continuous exercise in dialogue, attentive listening, and careful judgment about what to record and how.

Open knowledge, like the pilgrimage itself, is not built overnight: it is walked step by step. At Punta Corral, each person ascends carrying their own story, yet meaning emerges collectively. Both faith and open knowledge advance when sustained in community, when each individual step finds purpose within a shared endeavor. I hope this experience inspires other communities to document their territories and traditions, and in doing so, to continue building a broader, more plural, and more situated movement.