Colombia's Andean south — barniz de Pasto lacquerwork and the Blacks and Whites Carnival
Pasto is the capital of Nariño department in Colombia's far south, sitting at 2,527m beneath the active Galeras volcano — one of the most active in South America. It's a devoutly religious Andean city known for two things the world should know more about: the barniz de Pasto, a rare pre-Columbian lacquerwork technique using resin from the mopa mopa plant that produces extraordinary decorative objects, and the Carnaval de Negros y Blancos — UNESCO-listed and one of South America's most exuberant festivals, where citizens spend two days covering each other in black grease and white talcum powde…
Pasto was founded by Spaniards in 1537 on the site of an important indigenous Quillacinga settlement. Unlike most Colombian cities, Pasto remained royalist during the independence wars — fighting against Simón Bolívar's forces — earning it the nickname 'La Ciudad Obediente' (The Obedient City). This royalist identity, combined with geographic isolation by mountains, gave Pasto a distinctly conservative, deeply Catholic character that persists today. The barniz de Pasto lacquerwork technique survived intact through colonial rule, making Pasto one of the few places in the Americas where a pre-C…