This is a photo of the altar area in the church of Sagrado Corazón de Jesús (Sacred Heart of Jesus) in Villa Nueva, a community of Curarén.
For sure, this is a very poor community, but the people do the best with what they have. Crepe paper, cloth, ribbons, and saints’ pictures grace many of our churches to beautify them. At Christmas time, people bring whatever little figurines they have to put in the nativity scene, including Santa Claus, panda bears, giraffes, dinosaurs, etc.
So, like the people of Villa Nueva, the truly precious decorations are not necessarily the visual arts on display, but, rather, the love and devotion the people have to each other and their faith.