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| View of Santiago from Cerro San Lucia |
For the first couple of days, we just wandered around Santiago. We always felt safe and comfortable, but because we carry cameras, many many Chileans would stop and warn us to be careful of thieves. Luckily, we never had a problem.
We visited churches. One of my favorite things in the Catedral de Santiago was this basin with a sculpted set of praying hands that dripped holy water.
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| Catedral de Santiago |
While it was hard to feel like it was Christmas, it definitely was Christmas in Chile. There were reminders everywhere from the Christmas tree in the Plaza de Armas to Santa at the Costanera Center mall to the many street stands selling wrapping paper and gifts. And, after all, most people who celebrate Christmas live in the Southern Hemisphere where it is warm in December. The streets were packed with last-minute shoppers.
We visited Costanera Center the tallest building in South America at 300 meters/980 feet. On a winter day you can probably see the Andes to the east, but on a summer day with smoke in the air, you are lucky to be able to see 300 meters down.
We visited Santiago's fabulous vegetable and fish markets.
On Christmas Eve day we re-visted the markets with a tour group called Tours for Tips. The markets were even more crowded with people picking up the freshest seafood and produce for Christmas dinners.
On this same tour (it was an off the beaten track tour) we went to Santiago's cemetery. This cemetery established in 1821 now has more than 237 hectares (586 acres) and more than 2 million graves. The cemetery is connected to the subway system with its own stop, and it is so busy that the cemetery uses a monitor similar to those use in airports to display the name of the deceased, time of funeral, and place of burial. The cemetery is for everyone regardless of religion. It is separated between those who have money with the fancier graves and niches and those that don't.
Some of the deceased are buried in these condo like structures. Each niche might have 3 or more deceased enclosed because of the "reduction" system. Some 19th century niches hold the remains of up to 12 bodies. After several years, the bones are gathered and placed toward the rear to allow a new occupant to move in.
Animism is the belief that everything (rocks, rivers, mountain, everything) is alive (even the deceased) and is conscious or has a soul. It's easy to see Animism in practice at this cemetery. There is a special section in the cemetery for children; every year some of the families, including the family, of 5-day old Benjamin Antonio Droguett Cortez hold birthday parties at the niche to celebrate their child's birthday. Benjamin's family places party invitations on the graves or niches of the other children in the lane. Cemetery workers place handmade Christmas cards at each child's niche.
Animita is a Chilean term used to refer to a place of religious or mythological veneration, sometimes developed as a shrine made to remember a tragic event in public spaces. It is also established as a site of informal veneration of persons to whom are attributed some otherworldly characteristic. Those who died in tragic circumstances "leave their soul wandering in the place where they fell or are buried." Once a shrine is formed, "believers can ask him/her to intervene in front of saints or God himself to solve problems." If the prayer is answered, then it is required that a plaque be placed at the shrine. As more and more plaques appear, more people accept the powers of the animita (sources: Tours for Tips guide and Wikipedia).
The Romuldo Animita has been around since at least the 1930s with many versions of how he came to die and become an animita. One version is that Romuldo was a mentally handicapped man who lived near the train station. Romuldo often helped his neighbors and he was well liked. One night, several thugs beat and killed Romuldo. Because he was so tragically killed, some people began to ask the now deceased Romuldo for help. When their prayers were answered they thanked Romuldo by placing a plaque saying "Thank you Romualdito for listening" etc on the wall of the train station. More and more people had their prayers answered and also placed their thank you plaques around Romuldo's niche until now the plaques and flowers have flowed into all the surrounding niches. Romuldo's niche is the one with the tall red flowers sitting on the shelf Wikipedia on Romualdo Ibáñez.
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| Romualdito's Niche |
After having so many elegant meals in Chile, our last supper was at Fuente Alemana which is kind of a quirky diner style restaurant. The stove is in the center and customers sit at the bar that surrounds the cook stove. I had a burger made of minced beef and pork served on a bun with a entire mashed avocado (palto). It was fabulous. No wonder it was visited by Anthony Bourdain.
And, then it was the end of our time in Santiago. Back at our hotel we waited for our Christmas Eve taxi to the airport. On Christmas Day we were in three countries: Chile, Mexico, and Los Estados Unidos.
Particulars:
Casanoble Boutique Hotel friendly staff and excellent location near Belles Artes Museum for sightseeing and subway connections in Santiago.
Uncorked Wine Tours has elegant small 2-6 person tours around Santiago.
Bocanáriz Restaurant has over 400 kinds of wine from Chile. We thoroughly enjoyed our wine-paired dinner.
Tio Willy restaurant on an outer corner at the Mercado Central (fish market) for lunch. We shared the crab smothered in cheese--excellent.
Museum of Pre-Columbian Art One of the best museums I've been to with all labels in three languages: Spanish, Portuguese, and English. All pieces are beautifully displayed and lit.
