Day 644 – South America – Chile [Rest Day in Valparaiso]

25/01/22

 Rest day in Valparaiso (Chile, South America)

Walking the narrow steep streets of Valparaiso, amongst beautiful and powerful artwork

Too many murals to photograph!

It’s an interesting story, that of the street art in Valparaiso. Poet Pablo Neruda (a Nobel Prize literature winner in 1971) brought the art from Mexico in the 1970s (where he was posted as a Consul) to his home city of Valparaiso. When the dictatorship came in effect in 1973, political art was banished. Neruda “disappeared” (presumed killed by the regime) and anyone caught painting would be tortured and killed.

A florilege of Valpo’s murals

Yet in Valparaiso a group of artists persisted in painting, which was facilitated by the geography of the city, the hills, narrow streets and winding alleys. Paintings proliferated and it is believed it helped return Chile to democracy in 1990. The legacy, which is still alive, is an incredible amount of street art, carrying messages, the history of Chile, the culture and beauty of the country. Walking the streets often feels like walking into an open air museum. Colorful, lively and meaningful.

The port and part of the city from a Cerre Alegre, once of the hills

The port is a busy area, though nothing like what it was in the haydays, before the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, which signed the downfall of the “Jewel of the Pacific” as the city was known. Some areas of town are very rough, there’s a lot of contrast in the city. I greatly enjoyed that rest day by the ocean. And now I cannot wait to turn inland towards the magnificent Andes!