The name of the town doesn't do the temple justice. ''Chiquitos" means small in Spanish, and the structure is magnificent -- the first built by the Jesuits as part of a massive evangelization campaign that ensured the freedom of tens of thousands of Native Americans who otherwise would have become slaves of the Spanish conquistadores.
But its glory remains almost hidden by its relatively remote location -- although the town of San José de Chiquitos is accessible by train from the city of Santa Cruz, which has an airport with connections from the capital, La Paz.
And it's a pleasure to see the temple after spending hours in a candlelighted room with no air conditioning at the local inn -- Chiquitos has no electricity between 2 and 7 a.m.
Its brown stone-covered facade and three-story tower rising from the flat horizon, the monument stands on a neat green plaza like an undiscovered gem.
But time, neglect, and vandalism have taken a heavy toll. Doors, walls, arches, paintings, statues, altars all cry for care.
The restoration team, financed by the federal and local governments, expects to complete its job in a couple of years.
''The main altar should be ready in a few more months. The rest, perhaps by 2007," said Marcelo Vargas, the chief architect.
That would be a record pace for the restoration, which has dragged on for 20 years.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization declared Chiquitos and six other temples as world cultural heritage sites. That should have entitled the temple to aid from the government and financial institutions, but the restoration team this year has only $15,000, left over from a contribution by a state environmental agency.
The temple is one of 33 ''missions" the Jesuits built to protect the Indians. The missions were autonomous, self-sufficient towns in the jungle and prairies over a vast area that today is part of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia.
