Plaza 14 de Septiembre

The Plaza 14 de Septiembre is the heart of old Cochabamba — a shaded square surrounded by arcaded colonial buildings, the cathedral on one side and municipal buildings on the others. It is the kind of plaza where people actually sit and watch the world go by rather than merely passing through, and the human traffic is a reasonable cross-section of the city.

The cathedral on the western side of the square was begun in 1542 — the oldest religious building in the Cochabamba valley. The interior is relatively plain by Bolivian standards but has a quietly dignified calm. The surrounding streets, particularly Avenida Heroínas a block north, are the main commercial spine of the city centre.

things to do sight
A story
The date commemorated in the plaza's name — 14 September 1810 — was the first successful uprising against Spanish rule in Bolivia, when a local revolt briefly seized control of the city before being suppressed. Cochabamba is proud of the precedence: the square's name insists that the city acted before Buenos Aires and before the independence declarations that would eventually free the continent.