This museum is located in a residential neighborhood a bit distant from the main plaza, but it's worth the trip. It consists of two floors of exhibits that show the colonial and indigenous contributions to Argentine culture. We were given a guided tour of the museum in Spanish by Liliana, the enthusiastic anthropologist who amassed the collection. There is no set entrance fee, but they request a voluntary donation for your visit and if you get a tour.
A small and genuine museum that is not to be missed. The knowledgsble and entusiastic guide showed us the collection of the pre Inca arts. We were the only ones on our visit, which was great because the guide showed us and told us about everything. Really interesting!
I wish I'd allowed more time for this museum! I went too close to closing time but the guide was super friendly, knowledgable and enthusiastic. The collection itself is stunning with loads of things I've never seen before, all beautifully displayed. Definitely worth a visit!
We found this to be one of the most interesting things we saw in Salta. It’s a rather small, private museum, but we must’ve spent about 1½ hours there. Diego, who works there, was very passionate about the museum and eagerly showed us around, explaining the various artifacts on the ground floor. Upstairs we were able to tour around on our own. It’s definitely worth a visit. We were not asked for a donation; instead we were told how much to pay.
This place is spectacular-- it is like being invited into an anthropologist's living room and being told you can ask anything you want about the artifacts on display. Diego, the elegant and passionate executive director, opened the door and escorted me in as though I were an important guest in his home. He gave me a rundown of the different salons and then stayed nearby, ready to answer any question or point out something particularly fascinating. The objects are beautifully arranged and beautifully lit. As a museum worker myself, it was deeply moving to see the care they have for these precious objects, and the research they do into each object's history. I couldn't stop smiling the whole time I was there-- Diego makes it his goal to delight, and his enthusiasm is contagious. I wish there were more museums like this. Truly a special place, worth your time and worth your support!
Certainly not your average museum, this is a very thoughtfully curated collection of pre-Columbian artefacts, contrasted with more recent/contemporary local art and craft. The essence of the museum is to compare the old and newer items, and to see the cross-over influences. There are also some fascinating and compelling early C20 photographs of indigenous people. It's very well put together, a concise (but exceptional) collection, and an excellent introduction to the cultural mixes of Latin America.The museum may appear closed on arrival but press the bell to alert the guide. He is highly attentive, informative and enthusiastic, but I mean no offence in saying perhaps a little too attentive at times for some tastes. You are quite closely guided through the collection, to the extent that if you go back in your own time to a section you want to revisit, you may find the lights have been turned off!Being a little off-centre in Salta, I suspect it is very rarely if ever crowded, and along with MAAM this is something you should try and find time to include in a visit to Salta, if you want a sense of history and its influence on the present.
Probably the most important museum in the region. While MAAM gives you an excellent detailed look at one culture at one point in time, Pajcha Arte Etnico introduces you to most if not all of the cultures of South America. This is a very small but excellently curated private museum. It not only shows you pre-inca artifacts of each culture, but then goes on to show you how they were impacted by the Incas, then the conquistadors and Spanish culture, and finally how they are impacted by modern culture. The message is one of hope, how each of these cultures remains strong and viable even in the presence of outside forces, how they adapt and celebrate who they are. GREAT museum. Take the extra cost tour with Diego to get a full explanation and understanding. Publications available about the collections. As a designer and history/culture buff, I need to go back and spend more time there. Outstanding textile collection among other artifacts.
We were given a warm welcome and guided tour in Spanish and English to this small jewel of a museum. A fascinating mix of Pre-Columbian and early Spanish religious objects encouraging an understanding of current Latin American cultural mixing of European renaisance rationalism and indigenous animism. If you have ever wondered what inspired Latin American 'Magic Realism', this is the place to find out. Well worth a visit.
You might think the museum's closed when you arrive - or think you've turned up at a garage by mistake as to say it's inconspicuous is an understatement - but never fear. Just knock and the guide/host will almost drag you into the inner sanctum with his enthusiasm.The museum is a private collection of pre-Columbian objets d'art and religious artefacts complemented by contemporary work from across Latin America. Presumably the idea is to show both the the rude health of modern day creativity in the region and the influences that brought them to where they are today.The little torches are a necessary but amusing accessory as all the exhibits are well displayed but the interior is a little bit gloomy (presumably to preserve the older pieces) which isn't something that can be said for the host/guide who if anything may be a little too 'passionate and in your face' for certain tastes.The big disappointment was the 'shop' and I use the word loosely, as there seemed to be little actually on sale. Even a few postcards of the exhibits (especially as photography was not allowed) would have been something.
This museum is wonderful, filled with an extraordinary collection of objects. Loved the masks, the textiles, the medical related items. Diego is an enthusiastic and very passionate tour guide!