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The small town of Tinjacá, which is located in between Villa de Leyva and Ráquira, has a unique artisan craft that makes the town worthy of a detour.
Tagua Workshop
Bonilla & Vergara is a workshop owned by husband and wife team Juan César Bonilla and Julia Vergara. They make crafts out tagua nuts. Tagua is a pine native to Colombia, Ecuador, and Brazil. It has an astounding 97% of the properties of ivory.
We first walked into their store and saw some of the amazing products they make from tagua, including the world’s smallest chess set.
Juan César and Julia then invited us back into their workshop for a private demonstration. First, they showed us the nuts that they use to make their creations. They mentioned that every single shaving that falls off the tagua nuts as they carve them are used to make other products, such as paper. In fact, they were in the process of building a new workshop a few kilometers down the road completely out of recycled tagua.
Juan César had us stand in front of his table while he created something out of tagua. We watched in amazement as this nut quickly turned into a tiny vase.
After he finished, he handed the vase to Julia, who decorated it for us. As she was decorating, she told us a love story that the drawing on the vase represents.
It was a great experience to witness a truly unique craft that we had never heard of. It’s been in the Bonilla family for four generations so far. Juan César’s grandfather started the craft in Colombia and passed it down to his father, who passed it down to Juan César. He has since taught his own son, who has traveled around the world representing Colombia in international craft competitions.
Plaza
It’s worth seeing the small town plaza. The plaza is just a block from the workshop, which is located on the main road through Tinjacá. It’s a beautiful space full of shrubs, flowers, and trees. There’s a sculpture in the middle that looks like a conglomeration of tree stubs and stone, and the Government House (Casa de Gobierno) sits on one side.
The church is on another side of the plaza. It was built in 1838.
Getting There
You can reach Tinjacá on any bus traveling between Villa de Leyva and Ráquira or Chiquinquirá. You can combine it with a day trip to Ráquira and stop in Sutamarchán for lunch.
