Wender·Vista
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileBolivia
in Bolivia's tropical eastern lowlands

Santa Cruz de la Sierra

— — the city the jungle keeps catching up to.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The largest city in Bolivia, and the one most people don't picture when they picture Bolivia. No altitude headache here. Santa Cruz sits in the tropical lowlands, four hundred metres up, closer to the Pantanal than to La Paz. The old Plaza 24 de Septiembre still holds the centre, the cathedral on one side, sloths in the trees. Everything else has grown out from it in rings.

from the studio
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
— bring it home

Santa Cruz de la Sierra, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Santa Cruz de la Sierra

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Santa Cruz de la Sierra is the capital of Santa Cruz Department and the largest city in Bolivia by population, with the metropolitan area passing two million in recent counts. It sits at about 416 metres on the Piraí River, in the eastern lowlands rather than the Andean altiplano most travellers picture when they picture Bolivia. The city was founded in 1561 by the Spanish captain Ñuflo de Chávez, originally about 200 kilometres east of its present site, and moved west in stages over the following decades to its current location near the foothills.

— the air

The climate here is the opposite of the Bolivia of postcards. Santa Cruz sits in the humid subtropics, with average highs near 30°C in the rainy season from October to March, cooled occasionally by a surazo — the cold southerly wind that sweeps up from Patagonia and can drop the temperature fifteen degrees in a few hours. The air carries the lowland Amazonian basin to the east. You feel the Pantanal in it long before you see it on a map.

— the year

Carnaval Cruceño runs in February or early March and turns the centre of the city over to comparsas, water fights, and the coronation of a Carnival queen. Held in the week before Ash Wednesday, it is the largest Carnival in Bolivia after Oruro's, and the most relaxed — a lowland version of the highland tradition. The Plaza 24 de Septiembre is the staging ground. Outside that week, the same plaza belongs to the sloths in the toborochi trees.

— where
Bolivia · Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia
— elevation
416 m · 1,365 ft
— position
-17.7833° S · 63.1822° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
120 km SW
Samaipata
Pre-Columbian site
380 km W
Cochabamba
valley city
N
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Samaipata
Cochabamba
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Santa Cruz de la Sierra — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

No. Santa Cruz sits at about 416 metres in Bolivia's eastern lowlands. La Paz, in the western Andes, is more than 3,600 metres. The two cities have different climates and different histories.

The Spanish captain Ñuflo de Chávez founded Santa Cruz de la Sierra in 1561, naming it after his hometown in Extremadura, Spain. The original settlement was about 200 kilometres east of the present site and moved over the following decades.

Plaza 24 de Septiembre, named for the date in 1810 when the city declared independence from Spanish rule. It anchors the historic centre, flanked by the Basilica of San Lorenzo and the seat of the departmental government.

A surazo is a cold front that pushes up from Patagonia into the Bolivian lowlands, most often between June and August. It can drop Santa Cruz's temperature by ten to fifteen degrees Celsius within hours and bring days of grey drizzle.

The metropolitan area passed two million inhabitants in recent counts, making it the largest urban area in Bolivia by a wide margin. Growth accelerated through the late twentieth century as the lowland economy diversified into agriculture, gas, and finance.

— about the piece in your home

Many of our customers have given it to family with Cruceño ties. Most Bolivians abroad come from the lowlands; Plaza 24 de Septiembre reads as home in a way the altiplano images don't. The Small or Medium carries well.

It sits well in Tropical-modern, Colonial-Latin, and warm Earth-tone interiors. The Voynich layer's reds and greens pick up rattan, terracotta, and dark stained wood. It also reads cleanly against plain white plaster.

A single Large is the usual choice over a console or armchair. Above a full-length sofa, the four-tile Mural reads at proper scale; for a true feature wall, the nine-tile Mural.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any room where humidity or splashes are routine. The colour lives in the ceramic surface, beneath the finish, so steam and water do not affect it.

A microfibre cloth with water is enough for routine dusting. For kitchen grease or bathroom soap film, add a drop of mild dish soap. Avoid abrasive pads and bleach-based cleaners on any of the three finishes.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is made by our family studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. The art is original to Reid Wender, the curator, and is not licensed from any third party.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.