Realized that I have completely failed on updating my blog recently, but that’s only because I’ve been so busy! Here’s a quick tour through Santiago…
The weekend after Fiestas Patrias, the program scheduled a trip to Santiago that related a lot to the Ethics Seminar about Justice and Impunity in Latin America (real uplifting stuff). In Chile’s case, Pinochet was a controversial military dictator…very generally speaking, he was popular with the elite for his economics and anti-Marxist attitudes…and unpopular with the lower classes for the same reasons. During his anti-Marxist crusade, many people were tortured, killed, or “disappeared,” and the Chilean government still has not completely acknowledged what happened…there is definitely a lack of reconciliation. The places we went were:
1) La Vicaria de Solidaridad—Catholic organization that has compiled archives about the people who were taken and disappeared under Pinochet’s regime.
2) La Villa Grimauldi—Current site of a park for peace that commemorates the victims. The really creepy thing about this place is that it used to be the site of a torture and detention center. The building was destroyed but the foundation still exists, and is what the park’s landscape is designed around. The victims’ families wanted to turn such a horrible place into something beautiful that works to bring about awareness and reconciliation. However, I felt it was incredibly eerie to think about the atrocities that happened there…playing classical music loudly to cover up the sounds of people being tortured. I felt unsettled and actually could not wait to get out of the place, despite the fact that it was now a park.
3) La Fundacion Pinochet—We wanted to get the other perspective and see why people supported, and continue to justify, Pinochet. The Pinochet Foundation is located in Pinochet’s old office from where he worked as a “Senator for Life.” After he lost the plebiscite and would no longer be president, he used his remaining time in power to put mechanisms in place to protect the military and himself—including giving himself the title “Senator for Life.” The speaker at the Foundation buttered us up first with coffee and cookies, then proceeded to talk about why the military should not be held responsible for following orders, and that everybody does bad things. We toured Pinochet’s office, and saw cases upon cases of medals (many of which he probably awarded himself) as well as his throne in front of this tiny TV in his study. Special, special man.
4) El Cementerio G
eneral—Toured a big cemetery that housed the graves of several past presidents—including Balmaceda (the first person to commit suicide who was permitted to be buried there) and Allende (the Socialist president who was overthrown by Pinochet). Very interesting to see a cemetery in a different country. There were rows upon rows of very intricate family sepulchers…almost like little chapels—extremely beautiful. Another area had literally a wall where coffins are kept for a certain amount of time for the families to raise enough money to construct a sepulcher…but after enough time passes, the bodies are transferred to a general grave site. There was also a poorer part of the cemetery—rows upon rows of metal crosses. These graves were decorated with soccer jerseys and flags, toys, windmills—it had almost a cheerful atmosphere. It was interesting to think about how two cultures approach death. But really, it was not as morbid as it sounds. We also saw families of victims gathered at the cemetery…clearly, there is still pain and uncertainty after all this time.
The weekend after Fiestas Patrias, the program scheduled a trip to Santiago that related a lot to the Ethics Seminar about Justice and Impunity in Latin America (real uplifting stuff). In Chile’s case, Pinochet was a controversial military dictator…very generally speaking, he was popular with the elite for his economics and anti-Marxist attitudes…and unpopular with the lower classes for the same reasons. During his anti-Marxist crusade, many people were tortured, killed, or “disappeared,” and the Chilean government still has not completely acknowledged what happened…there is definitely a lack of reconciliation. The places we went were:
1) La Vicaria de Solidaridad—Catholic organization that has compiled archives about the people who were taken and disappeared under Pinochet’s regime.
2) La Villa Grimauldi—Current site of a park for peace that commemorates the victims. The really creepy thing about this place is that it used to be the site of a torture and detention center. The building was destroyed but the foundation still exists, and is what the park’s landscape is designed around. The victims’ families wanted to turn such a horrible place into something beautiful that works to bring about awareness and reconciliation. However, I felt it was incredibly eerie to think about the atrocities that happened there…playing classical music loudly to cover up the sounds of people being tortured. I felt unsettled and actually could not wait to get out of the place, despite the fact that it was now a park.
3) La Fundacion Pinochet—We wanted to get the other perspective and see why people supported, and continue to justify, Pinochet. The Pinochet Foundation is located in Pinochet’s old office from where he worked as a “Senator for Life.” After he lost the plebiscite and would no longer be president, he used his remaining time in power to put mechanisms in place to protect the military and himself—including giving himself the title “Senator for Life.” The speaker at the Foundation buttered us up first with coffee and cookies, then proceeded to talk about why the military should not be held responsible for following orders, and that everybody does bad things. We toured Pinochet’s office, and saw cases upon cases of medals (many of which he probably awarded himself) as well as his throne in front of this tiny TV in his study. Special, special man.
4) El Cementerio G
eneral—Toured a big cemetery that housed the graves of several past presidents—including Balmaceda (the first person to commit suicide who was permitted to be buried there) and Allende (the Socialist president who was overthrown by Pinochet). Very interesting to see a cemetery in a different country. There were rows upon rows of very intricate family sepulchers…almost like little chapels—extremely beautiful. Another area had literally a wall where coffins are kept for a certain amount of time for the families to raise enough money to construct a sepulcher…but after enough time passes, the bodies are transferred to a general grave site. There was also a poorer part of the cemetery—rows upon rows of metal crosses. These graves were decorated with soccer jerseys and flags, toys, windmills—it had almost a cheerful atmosphere. It was interesting to think about how two cultures approach death. But really, it was not as morbid as it sounds. We also saw families of victims gathered at the cemetery…clearly, there is still pain and uncertainty after all this time.As educational and interesting as these places were, I am going to be honest and say that between all these activities, it was rather an emotionally-draining couple of days. Thank goodness for the other activities for distraction.
1) La Plaza and Catedral—Big central plazas are trademarks of Spa
nish colonialism…and always colorful and cheerful. I also LOVE going into cathedrals, and this one was absolutely magnificent. High vaulted ceilings, statues of saints, incredibly details…basically the hallmarks of any great Cathedral.
2) La Moneda—Literally, coin currency. It used to be a money-minting factory but because of the famous architect who designed it (so famous I recall his name, even—think he was the same one to design the Cathedral, though) it was turned into the Presidential Palace. There are guards out front like at Buckingham Palace…though these ones were not as hardcore.
3) La Chascona—one of Pablo Neruda’s houses. Very interesting architecture, modeled after a ship, so it was extremely cool. Besides that, I am in love with Pabs’ poetry. He lived there with his mistress, Matilde. She had this crazy hair, hence the name “la chascona,” which translates to “disheveled” but in an endearing way. When the guide was explaining the name, he kept looking at my hair like he wasn’t sure whether or not he should point me out as an example.
4) El Barrio Bellavista—Good place to buy artisan crafts and eat food. We found a leftist café and had a fabulous lunch—murals on the wall, pictures of Che, almost felt like I was back in Olympia. The place was called La Casa en el Aire (the House in the Sky), based off of a poem. We decided that anything with “aire” in it is a good thing. Our list? The song Manos al Aire by Nelly Furtado, Pomaire, Buenos Aires, and the café.
5) Los Vikingos—Best Viking-themed restaurant ever. A group of about 10 of us went for dinner on Friday night…the decorations we
re crazy, and everything was covered in animal skins…including the table and the ceiling. Some of the servers wore Viking hats. It was great. But the best part was the bathroom. Each stall was like a dungeon chamber, with handcuffs hanging from the ceiling which you pulled to flush the toilet. Classy.
Overall impression: Meh. I’m glad we went because Santiago’s the capital city and is important for historic reasons, but I found it to be a city without much of a personality. However, that might just be because of the types of places that we visited…I feel like I didn’t get to see all that Santiago has to offer…perhaps we’ll return again for a weekend to see the un-educational side of the city. So many places to go!
nish colonialism…and always colorful and cheerful. I also LOVE going into cathedrals, and this one was absolutely magnificent. High vaulted ceilings, statues of saints, incredibly details…basically the hallmarks of any great Cathedral.2) La Moneda—Literally, coin currency. It used to be a money-minting factory but because of the famous architect who designed it (so famous I recall his name, even—think he was the same one to design the Cathedral, though) it was turned into the Presidential Palace. There are guards out front like at Buckingham Palace…though these ones were not as hardcore.
3) La Chascona—one of Pablo Neruda’s houses. Very interesting architecture, modeled after a ship, so it was extremely cool. Besides that, I am in love with Pabs’ poetry. He lived there with his mistress, Matilde. She had this crazy hair, hence the name “la chascona,” which translates to “disheveled” but in an endearing way. When the guide was explaining the name, he kept looking at my hair like he wasn’t sure whether or not he should point me out as an example.
4) El Barrio Bellavista—Good place to buy artisan crafts and eat food. We found a leftist café and had a fabulous lunch—murals on the wall, pictures of Che, almost felt like I was back in Olympia. The place was called La Casa en el Aire (the House in the Sky), based off of a poem. We decided that anything with “aire” in it is a good thing. Our list? The song Manos al Aire by Nelly Furtado, Pomaire, Buenos Aires, and the café.
5) Los Vikingos—Best Viking-themed restaurant ever. A group of about 10 of us went for dinner on Friday night…the decorations we
re crazy, and everything was covered in animal skins…including the table and the ceiling. Some of the servers wore Viking hats. It was great. But the best part was the bathroom. Each stall was like a dungeon chamber, with handcuffs hanging from the ceiling which you pulled to flush the toilet. Classy.Overall impression: Meh. I’m glad we went because Santiago’s the capital city and is important for historic reasons, but I found it to be a city without much of a personality. However, that might just be because of the types of places that we visited…I feel like I didn’t get to see all that Santiago has to offer…perhaps we’ll return again for a weekend to see the un-educational side of the city. So many places to go!
No comments:
Post a Comment