Whilst in Valparaiso I tried to explain to the hotel receptionist the meaning of 'Serendipity' - which was quite difficult, but coincidentally I experienced it first hand today. Salvador Allende was from Valparaiso and I fell upon this statue honouring him. The inscription has a direct quote, 'I have faith in Chile.' Though I was heading to the Moneda Palace, I was unaware that it was the residence of the President, nor where Allende met his death. For those ignorant of this period in history, I have included an extract from Wikipedia.
Salvador Allende
The Moneda Palace
Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens(Spanish: [salβaˈðoɾ aˈʝende ˈɣosens]; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and politician, known as the first Marxist to become president of a Latin American country through open elections.[1]
Allende's involvement in Chilean political life spanned a period of nearly forty years. As a member of the Socialist Party, he was a senator, deputy and cabinet minister. He unsuccessfully ran for the presidency in the 1952, 1958, and 1964elections. In 1970, he won the presidency in a close three-way race. He was elected in a run-off by Congress as no candidate had gained a majority.
As president, Allende adopted a policy of nationalization of industries and collectivisation; due to these and other factors, increasingly strained relations between him and the legislative and judicial branches of the Chilean government culminated in a declaration by Congress of a "constitutional breakdown". A centre-right majority including the Christian Democrats, whose support had enabled Allende's election, denounced his rule as unconstitutional and called for his overthrow by force.[citation needed] On 11 September 1973, the military moved to oust Allende in a coup d'étatsponsored by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).[2][3][4] As troops surrounded La Moneda Palace, he gave his last speech vowing not to resign.[5] Later that day, Allende shot himself with an assault rifle,[6] according to an investigation conducted by a Chilean court with the assistance of international experts in 2011.[7]
Following Allende's death, General Augusto Pinochetrefused to return authority to a civilian government, and Chile was ruled by a military junta that was in power up until 1990, ending almost four decades of uninterrupted democratic rule. The military junta that took over dissolved the Congress of Chile, suspended the Constitution, and began a persecution of alleged dissidents, in which thousands of Allende's supporters were kidnapped, tortured, and murdered.
The full article is well worth reading as it exposes the involvement of the USA in the undermining of his government and its subsequent support of the genocide perpetrated under General Pinochet, that lasted for 17 years. Coming back to 'Serendipty', I was on Facebook, responding to Mark Davidson's efforts to do a back to back Cornish marathons, in a fund raising effort for his friend Sam Ward-Jones, (justgiving.com) who needs expensive drugs, not funded by the NHS in Wales. Whilst clicking the appropriate tabs, I spotted a link from Mariya Vancheva (See my Costa Rica pages), entitled the 'Secret World of US Election: Julian Assange talks to John Pilger.' (Youtube). For those of you who do not know, Julian Assange is the head of Wikileaks and is currently, and has been for some time, seeking political asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Do watch this revealing interview, as not only does it give a greater insight into the recent US election, it also exposes the shananigans of Hillary Clinton and the political establishment. The corruption and political interference that takes place in other nation states, done in the name of USA but in reality, merely serves the interest of the ruling elite in both countries. My opinion was changed from watching this clip - whilst Trump is a petty criminal, Hillary is perhaps the real life organised mob gangster.
So enough of politics, though it is an integral part of this historic city. I managed to walk around the compact heart of Santiago. It really is the most European of cities that I have visited in Latin America. It is more polished, less filthy and better organised than most capitals in South America. It has the Victorian covered arcades one finds in Paris, and the street traders and entertainers found in most major European capitals. Strangely however, at 10am on a Saturday morning, the streets were empty and the shops only just waking up.
One of the many covered arcades
Chilean Folk/Rock Band (outside the toilets)
One of the many beautiful churches
The Municipal Cathedral (At 10 am this was quite full with worshipers)
I visited the museum of Pre Columbian Art, though I didn't go in, as that is for tomorrow. I also visited the more recently built Cultural Centre, which had fantastic displays of ethnic Chilean handicrafts - mainly textiles. This is a great city to visit as the main areas of interested are located within a very compact and walkable area and surprisingly does not seem as busy with traffic as other cities.
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