Tupiza

Tupiza lies in the southern Bolivian Andes, in a dry valley surrounded by sharply coloured hills. It was a centre of the Chichas country and a stopping place on routes between the southern provinces and the mining districts of Upper Peru. Its position made it a strategic point during the wars that followed the overthrow of Spanish authority in Buenos Aires.

In 1810 forces sent by the Buenos Aires junta advanced into Upper Peru, while royalist troops occupied Tupiza. On 7 November the opposing armies met at Suipacha, south of the town on the San Juan del Oro River. The patriot victory opened the way north and became an early landmark in the independence campaigns, with men from Chichas participating in the struggle.