Capilla Farruco: a night by candlelight where Artigas joined the Blandengues

In the countryside of Durazno, in central Uruguay, a chapel from 1782 is still standing: the Capilla Farruco. It was a chapel, a fort of the Blandengues corps and a country tavern (pulpería), and on this very spot José Gervasio Artigas, Uruguay's national hero, joined that military corps. I went in at night, investigating almost everything by candlelight, to see whether the paranormal phenomenon was as real as people say.

Note: the video is in Spanish. This page is the full story in English.

A chapel older than the country

The chapel was built in 1782, on land belonging to Francisco Rodríguez, nicknamed "Farruco", which is where its name comes from. It stands between the Las Cañas and Cordobés streams, some 60 to 70 kilometers from Sarandí del Yí. It's one of the buildings from that era still preserved today, and it has been a Historic Monument since 1989. The State bought it in 1942 precisely to preserve it, and in 1960 the chapel and the fort were restored.

It wasn't just a chapel. It also served as a fort for the Blandengues corps, and on 10 March 1797 José Gervasio Artigas joined its ranks right here: he used the fort to stay and the chapel to pray.

And it was a pulpería, a rural tavern and store. As in so many pulperías of the time, deaths were frequent: shootouts outside over bets, alcohol, fights. On the grounds, people with metal detectors have found several bullets from the period. That isn't legend: it's evidence that there were shootouts, wounded and possibly dead there.

The legend

What's inside is more legend: it's said that in the chapel and in the room next door a woman is seen, especially at night.

The night, by candlelight

When night fell, the wind outside died down and inside the chapel there was an impressive silence, so much that I had to speak quietly. For recording EVPs it's a special place.

That night I wanted to try something different. I've noticed that white light somehow seems to bother them, so I did almost the whole investigation with a candle, the same light people lived by in the 1700s. I also used an electromagnetic field meter, a recorder for EVPs and the Spirit Box.

At first I felt a cold draft pass beside me several times. That could be normal, since it was windy outside and air moves through the place. But the feeling wasn't just cold: it was something more uncomfortable.

The woman's voice on the Spirit Box

In the chapel, on the Spirit Box, voices with a woman's tone came through, mixed with the odd male voice, answering when I asked something and staying silent when I didn't. I switched the device on and off several times, and every time I turned it on in the chapel the woman's voice came back. Exactly what the legend says.

In the rooms of the fort, on the other hand, the few voices there were came out very random and didn't answer my questions, and the woman's voice was no longer heard.

"Those voices don't mean there's a spirit or a demon. They're voices coming out of the radio with words that, given the speed of the sweep between frequencies, mathematically shouldn't appear. They're paranormal because they have no identified origin, not because they're spirits."

The shadow

A shadow passing by was caught on camera. I don't know what it was: it could be a lens issue. What's particular about it is that at the same time you hear a sound like air, like wind going past. That makes me think it wasn't just a camera effect, although I can't say for sure.

The electromagnetic field meters registered nothing all night. There are a few outlets in the place, but there's no power, so any reading would have stood out. There wasn't one.

What I take with me

Does that mean the phenomenon doesn't exist? No: often the equipment doesn't react even when something happens. From the Capilla Farruco I take with me a woman's voice that always appeared in the same place, a shadow with the sound of wind, and the feeling of being in one of the oldest places in the country, at night and by candlelight. As always, I give you the benefit of the doubt: this is what I heard, and the conclusion is yours.

Thanks to the police station next door, which gave us permission, and to my friend Carlos and his son, who helped us visit the place.

The video (in Spanish)

If you visit

The Capilla Farruco is in the department of Durazno, on a rural road near Route 6. It's a Historic Monument and a pilgrimage (romería) is held there every year. It's worth visiting during the day, with respect: it's one of the few places still standing from before Uruguay existed.