Discovery Series Ornament – Santa Cruz de la Sierra
The Starbucks Discovery Series Ornament Santa Cruz de la Sierra offers a smaller selection of symbols from Bolivia’s largest city and the surrounding eastern lowlands. Santa Cruz de la Sierra was founded by Ñuflo de Chaves in 1561 and was moved more than once before becoming established at its present location. Over time, it developed into the economic center of eastern Bolivia, with a culture and landscape quite different from the country’s high-altitude Andean cities.
– The sloth is one of the most distinctive animals found in Bolivia’s tropical lowlands. Santa Cruz Department includes forests, wetlands, and other habitats where sloths can be found, and the animals have become especially familiar around the city because they can occasionally be spotted in large urban trees as well.
– The toborochi tree (Ceiba speciosa) is one of the most distinctive trees associated with Santa Cruz. It is easily recognized by its swollen, bottle-shaped trunk, often covered with large conical thorns, and by its beautiful pink flowers. Toborochis are a familiar sight around the city and are also connected with Indigenous legends explaining the tree’s unusual shape.
– The violin connects the ornament with the musical traditions of Urubichá, often associated with violin making and performance. The town has preserved an important musical heritage with roots in the colonial period, combining European Baroque traditions with Indigenous culture. Handmade instruments and musical education remain an important part of local life there.
– The Jesuit Mission of San José de Chiquitos appears to be another landmark referenced on the ornament. Founded in 1698, San José became one of the Jesuit missions established in the Chiquitos region of eastern Bolivia. Its church complex is especially notable because it was built largely from stone rather than wood, making it quite different from many of the other surviving Chiquitos mission churches. Today, San José de Chiquitos is part of the UNESCO-listed Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos and remains one of the most important historic sites in the Santa Cruz Department.
