Images of the Rainforest Museum

A dentist called Rodolfo Teófilo Allou has left a significant artistic and cultural heritage in Puerto Iguazú. His passion for woodcarving and in turn for life in the Paraná rainforest has inspired him to create masterpieces. That is how the Images of the Rainforest Museum emerged. Allou was self-taught and worked with native wood at his workshop. Among the many characters that inhabited the lush environment, he carved a pregnant native woman, the native professions and details of life in the Jesuit missions. Figures of Guaraní legends and animals were carved by his hands to be remembered forever. We went around the venue to discover his work done with the proper tools on the whimsical shapes of some roots, lianas and wood pieces found in the forest. All the material has been classified and all the pieces on which Allou embodied so much of his affection are on display there.

Some popular characters such as Jorge Cafrune and Horacio Quiroga –another lover of wild nature- were immortalized in noble wood by Allou. Outside the museum, we could walk along the Rainforest Trail, which led us deep into the thick surroundings teeming with native species whose humidity and perfume accompanied us during the hike. As we reached Panambí Creek, some members of the group decided to take a comforting bath in those waters. As we got close to the Iguazú River, we visited a chapel that also houses pieces made by the same artist. Rodolfo Allou’s personal human quality has been portrayed in these rooms that make up a dynamic and very attractive museum. Works of art and the rainforest he highly praised co-exist in harmony inside the same venue.