"...Workers of my country, I have faith in Chile and its destiny. Other men will overcome this dark and bitter moment when treason seeks to prevail. Keep in mind that, much sooner than later, the great avenues will again be opened through which will pass free men to construct a better society..."
- Salvador Allende, Santiago de Chile, 11 of September 1973.
When "democracy" was restored in Chile in 1991, so too was a portion of her history - however, for the interests of some, portions of the history of the dictatorship still remains protected. The general cemetery of la Recoleta, Santiago de Chile, was not exempt from this process. During the 90's, Salvador Allende's body - Chile's fallen president to the dictatorship - was given a proper burial in la Recoleta. Over 1 million people lined the roads in a guard of honor. The above citation of Allende's "farewell speech" is chiseled into a marble stone at his mausoleum.
On Sunday, April 12, I took a trip to la Recoleta, with my Tio Victor and Tia Emilia (Uncle and Aunty). Tio Victor was quite the knowledgeable tour guide. La Recoleta is the resting place to many famous chileans, who have played historic roles in shaping chilean society, politics, and culture* It is also the depressing end for those that were disappeared by the dictatorship. There was an area, that had hundreds of graves with rusted crucifixes with the insignia "nn" - Ningun Nombre (No Name) - they never bothered to identify the bodies. Since the restoration of democracy, an enormous wall, with thousands of names inscribed, is now the monument to those fallen victim; we paid our tributes.
The last week I would like to title "the week of Museums". Historical, Nature, and Interactive museums were on the menu; and I feasted on them. Every second day I would travel to one. The odd days I would stay at home, to mainly write and research for an article I wrote on the political situation in Argentina - check it out, if you want
The first on the list was the museum of national history. Located in Plaza de Armas, in central Santiago, the museum occupies an ancient building that was once the headquarters of the Spanish viceroy, way back in the 17th century. It was a fantastic, and educational experience. Unfortunately, for the gringo, there is no English descriptions of the item. As I'm not the speed reader in Spanish I took my time in wandering through. I transcended time and lunch to spend my day there. The museum presents the historical development of Chile from the indigenous people, Spanish conquerors, colonisation, Independence, national development, to the death of Allende (There was a display of his real glasses that were broken). Once again, I was frustrated that no photos were allowed to be taken inside.
The museum of nature was interesting, but once Ive seen one, you could expect to find the same things: dinosaur bones, various stuffed animals, etc. But the main thing to go to, as I have discovered, is the section on the national fauna, which is slightly more interesting. More fascinating was the display on indigenous culture - artifacts, clothing, tools - both before and after the colonisation. The Spanish conquest was influential on the culture of the indigenous peoples; for example, pottery now had certain styles that was European. A mummified indigenous boy, from the early 10th century, was also display. Frozen in the mountain top, known as the grey mountain, that has a permanent snow top, he was discovered in 1952.
The Interactive museum was my last one for the week. It is just around the corner from where I'm staying - not too far, until you make a wrong turn, but I got there in the end. As the title suggests it is an interactive, hands-on museum. While it is designed for kids (great place to bring my nephews), adults can have a heap of fun, as I discovered. The museum is divided into various sections, each having a speciality - physics, sound, visual tricks, human body. Within each section there are displays that you can interact with to learn about something. When I arrived, the museum was quiet empty; however, all of a sudden, hundreds of little kids rush the place. It must have been the end of school. The kids went crazy. They would just run around playing with a display for a few seconds, laugh hysterically, then run away, it was hilarious.
During the week, my uncle, a football fanatic, and I have been playing futsol. It has been great to get back into playing some football. There is no shortage of games, he plays 3 times a week - a fanatic! Surprisingly I am fairly fit. I put it down to walking around forever around the cities I've visited.
I'm planning on travelling to the coast for a few nights, re-visiting Valpariso, and then heading back here. The plan is to continue on to Bolivia in early May; but I'm considering incorporating Paraguay into this trip, at least for a few weeks. As always, I'll keep you posted.
Con amor, desde Santiago de Chile.
Gonzalo
P.S here are some links to some photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=35117&l=c13e3&id=732774973
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=35810&l=12097&id=732774973
* Comrades of la Recoleta: Salvador Allende, murdered president; Gladys Marin, secretary-general of the Chilean Communist Party, she was the first to file a case against the former dictator, Augusto Pinochet, for genocide, kidnapping, illicit association and illegal inhumation, her funeral attracted a guard of honor of 1 million people; Violetta Parra, an inspiring Chilean folk singer, whos "New Song" movement would develop and reinvent chilean folk; Victor Jara, a poet, singer-song writer, and part of the "new song" movement, he was tortured, and then killed by the dictatorship, he would later personify those fallen; Miguel Enriquez, secretary-general of the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), a leader and combatant, he was killed by the dictatorship in a raid, and is a symbolic figure of the activist left; Toledo brothers, commemorated in the day of the young combatant, March 20, they were three brothers that were assassinated by the dictatorship, two on the same day.
