What is this ???

In our close neighborhood of Atlantida and Las Vegas, you will find the country
town of Soca. Nice, little, sleepy town, off the main roads. Not many tourists are around
and nothing to see!? If you look closer you find in Soca another one of Urugayan
architectural jewels. The Church, or chapel of Susana Soca. But – is it really a church ??

  Plaza Publica in Soca.

Where and what is Soca ?

To Soca one can go on Route 35, which arises at the intersection with Interbalnearia up
to La Floresta, where the new bridge is, to the north. With entering the town you’ll find
a sign „Capilla Susana Soca“. You can also use Route 8, entering Soca per km 50,5 or 59,3.
The chapel is in the eastern suburbs located next to the OSE tower. Easy to find.

  The chapel sign in Soca.

„Dr. Francisco Soca“ or just „Soca“, is a small city in the department of Canelones of
southern Uruguay. On 20 September 1877 the „Pueblo“ (village) named Mosquitos was
founded here. It was also known as „Santo Tomás de Aquino“. Renamed to „Soca“ on
18 April 1928 in honor of the famous „son of town“ Dr. Francisco Soca. On 23rd of
September 1971, its status was elevated to „Ciudad“ (city). 1908 Soca had the largest
population, about 4800. Today around 1790 only.

  Dr. Francisco Soca.

Who was Francisco Soca ?

He is one of the most important figures in the national medicine scene of Uruguay,
doctor, teacher, researcher and much more. He was born in Santo Tomás de Aquino 1856,
a place in honor of the illustrious descendant canaries (now called Soca). In 1883
he graduated as a surgeon with the presentation of the thesis „Case History of ataxia“.

  Some works of Professor Dr. Soca.

Then he got a grant from the Medical Faculty of Paris, where he restarted his medical
studies. In Paris he stayed 5 years to complete his studies before he returned to
Uruguay. He died in 1922. An Avenida in Montevideo, a hospital and furthermore is
named after Dr. Francisco Soca. Dr. Soca was married to Luisa Blanco Acevedo and they
had only one child, their daughter, Susana Soca.

Susana Soca.

Who was Susana Soca ?

Born 1906 into a patrician family, the only daughter of the renowned Dr. Francisco Soca and Luisa Blanco Acevedo, a teenager used to find in her home  writers such as Maria Eugenia Vaz Ferreira, Carlos Sabat Ercasty, Jules Supervielle, Carlos Reyles, Orfila Bardesio, among others . She lived from childhood some great seasons in Paris, first with her family and then alone.

   Susana Soca , La Dame à La Licorne.

Her relationship with her mother was stormy, for it is said that she was a very temperamental woman who wanted to have her daughter dedicated to serving, while the thoughts of Susana were in literary, philanthropic and political issues.

Glimpse into Susana’s life 1906-1959.

She was educated by tutors and spoke several languages: Spanish, French, English, German, Russian, Latin, Greek and Italian. As an adult she learned to read Russian. Boris Pasternak, with whom she corresponded, and hid the manuscripts of Doctor Zhivago for publication.

She lived in Paris from 1938-1948, even during World War II. In 1947 she brought forward her cultural project, „Cahiers de La Licorne“, drawing Unicorn (refers to the constellation of La Licorne). The cover of the magazine was made by Valentine Hugo as well as many of the illustrations thereof and a pair of portraits of Susanna and her mother. The first three numbers came out in France and the following are edited in Montevideo. Deliveries under the name of „The Licorne“. These deliveries were a literary compendium of recognized writers such as Jorge Luis Borges, Onetti and Pasternak, for example, and lesser-known authors .

Susana Soca 1939 in Paris.

In „La Licorne“ intellectual production of America and Europe was spreading.
Translations and articles she authored, texts Borges, Neruda, Onetti and Felisberto
Hernández well as German philosophers, poets and English and French Surrealists
were published.

With lingering love she gazed at the dispersed
Colors of dusk. It pleased her utterly
To lose herself in the complex melody
Or in the cunous life to be found in verse.
lt was not the primal red but rather grays
That spun the fine thread of her destiny,
For the nicest distinctions and all spent
In waverings, ambiguities, delays.
Lacking the nerve to tread this treacherous
Labyrinth, she looked in on, whom without,
The shapes, the turbulence, the striving rout,
(Like the other lady of the looking glass).
The gods that dwell too far away for prayer
Abandoned her to the final tiger, Fire.                   Poem dedicated by Jorge Luis Borges to Susana Soca.

                   Jorge Luis Borges (1899 – 1986).

In 1959, meeting in Paris, her mother called and asked her to come back home. Susana had a Lufthansa airline ticket. Before leaving goodbye to all her friends and trusts all her manuscripts to her personal secretary Guido Castillo who told her to publish them in case anything happened. That Lufthansa flight from Hamburg, trying to land in Rio de Janeiro, the track was slippery, and the aircraft ran through until igniting and crashing into Guanabara Bay, killing 29 passengers and 7 of the crew.

This plane, a Lufthansa Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation, crashed in Rio de Janeiro on 11. Jan. 1959.

The Super Constellation operated on flight LH502 from Hamburg, Germany to Buenos Aires, Argentina
with stops at Frankfurt, Paris, Lisbon, Dakar, Senegal and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Original pics of this crash !

Her cousin Juan Carlos Blanco was asked to go to Rio de Janeiro to recognize the body and is responsible for the repatriation of remains to Montevideo. The family was devastated by the death of Susana and her mother fell into a deep depression. Her assets, including countless Japanese prints, works of Gothic paintings by Modigliani, Picasso and others, were mismanaged by an intermediary and almost no trace of the whereabouts of any of them – all lost. Susana was never married and just 53 years old when she died.

  Church, Chapel, Mausoleum or Shrine ?

A Soca chapel in Soca ?

Antoni Bonet was an avant-garde Catalan architect who along with Susana conceived this
chapel. It was planned and built in honor of her father, Dr. Soca. This was also the
reason for the building site located in the city of Soca.

As Susana died before finishing the chapel, her mother wanted to go ahead with the
project and tried to bury her daughter there, having it as a mausoleum. The latter could
not be performed because it is not allowed by law to bury outside an official cemetery.

  Mystic writing and symbols outside.

Who was Antoni Bonet ?

Antoni Bonet i Castallan was a Catalan architect, designer and urban planner. He was born
in Barcelona 1913 and died in Barcelona 1989.

  Antoni Bonet.

The Catalan architect and designer Antoni Bonet Castellano (different name writings
everywhere) might be forever identified as THE designer of the Butterfly Chair (officially,
the BKF Chair).

  The Butterfly Chair.

But Bonet had a grander, if lesser-recognized jewel in his crown, also, residing on the
outskirts of Barcelona. Casa Gomis, a sprawling Modernist summer time residence, was
made for Ricardo Gomis and his wife Inés Bertrand Mata, a couple so besotted with the
architect, then living in Argentina, that they sought his solutions across continents.
Bonet accepted the lengthy-distance commission, and over a 10-year period, 1953 to 1963,
Casa Gomis or better named casa „La Ricarda“ came into dazzling concentrate.

   La Ricarda.

When Bonet met the poet and designer Susana Soca, he was inspired by their many talks
and discussions to build a chapel in honor of her father Dr. Soca. This was in the
early 1950’s, as said after Susana died, her mother finished the project in Susana’s
honor. The chapel was inaugurated in the late 1960’s and then abandoned for decades.

Wall with colored glass lighting, Bonet’s idea.

It was never a church, never used as a church, not even Antoni Bonet’s Mausoleum of
Susana Soca, because she couldn’t be buried there. Lost somewhere in the countryside,
without being consecrated either by the Catholic Church or as patrimony.
So – it is what it became – Susana Soca’s shrine !   But, let’s still call it a chapel !

   The glass roofing, outside.

A mystery glass chapel ?

Known locally as the „Glass Chapel“, its also known for the uniqueness and for being
an example of modern architecture, designed in the fifties and built in the sixties.

The glass roofing, inside.

Its location has significant potential to attract visitors to a sector of the department
little known and valued by tourists. This is understandable, because there is no
advertizing at all and the surrounding has not much to show.

Sadly, as many many other buildings in Uruguay, it is dirty, neglected and runned down.
Exept – the lot around is mowed and cleaned by a gardener.

  Fantastic illumination.

In the structure of reinforced concrete and glass, from the outside it is in the form
of a cross, triangle shape prevails. It is characterized by the subdivision of a triangular
module subdivided into 25 triangles, which in turn are divided into nine triangles,
which are housing stained glass.

  Almost 3000 glass triangles allover.

The sunlight makes its way through them, creating within a very particular atmosphere
full of warmth and mystery. Light plays a very special role in the chapel, as it filters
through the stained glass achieving very interesting effects by time of day. Violet,
green and amber colored glasses were chosen .

From this perspective the building appears as a rectangle formed by two squares, the
geometric center is defined by the axes of the main nave. The altar is located on the
vertical axis.

  What a light atmosphere inside.

The idea of ​​crucifixion is embodied in the figure of the cross as the trinity makes the
equilateral triangle, which appears in different scales throughout the building. In
addition to glasses, the triangle appears on the front, on the top of income, in the
presbytery and both sides of the cruise. It might be interesting for one to translate
all the Latin writings (in concrete) and symbols of their meaning.

  Jesus Christ cross above the entry.

While the chapel itself is a symbol, the truth is that it is full of them, creating
an atmosphere of mystery that invites reflection. First, the presence of thousands of
triangles that shape construction, they are all a spiritual and a religious symbol.

  Mystic lighting during day and night.

The walls are home to many legends and messages, such as equilateral cross entry with
the name of Christ. This chapel is very special, and it’s one of those architectural
treasures to discover in Uruguay.

  Mystic Latin writing at the walls.

A very complicated entry !!

The entire chapel is fenced because it is on private property. You can visit on
Heritage Days, a show or presentation. Because sometimes the chapel is rented out
for special occasions of any kind. But, no one really knows when and for what.

         Artistic Dresses.

Last year during the International Women’s Day, 8/9th March 2014, the artist Alejandra
González Soca, held an exhibition of „phantasy“ wedding dresses.
What a great and mystic atmosphere to display such artistic dresses.

  Capilla Susana Soca – Susana’s shrine.

Either way, it’s worth getting there, because with a little luck someone is home
and you may be asked to enter. I was lucky !! Success is by no means assured, but it
is worth making the attempt because the reward of knowing inside, well worth it.

I already prepare many more posts about the church situation and interesting
history backgrounds. So, stay tuned with these architectural „treats“ in Uruguay.