Last shoppings of 2006

Today I visited the Parque Arauco mall, one of the biggest shopping centers in Santiago. It has a nice place called "Boulevard del Parque", where you can find many restaurants, bars, cafes and a cinema. There was a group playing Bossa Nova music that called my attention (at the center, in this "find Wally" picture)

Long weekend ahead

First of all, Don't try this at home! Never attempt to drive in a highway and take pictures at the same time!
Today is a special day. The last working week of 2006 is over and a long weekend is coming.
I hope you enjoy these leisure days and begin preparing for the celebrations!
I took this picture in the Constanera Norte, a relatively new highway (inaugurated in April 2005) that connects the eastern and western parts of Santiago. A good part of it is underground.

Human Misery

I found this beautiful marble sculpture in the National Museum of Fine Arts. I couldn't avoid to capture it in a picture (although guards where not very happy...). It's called "La Miseria" (The Misery, 1910), by Ernesto Concha and really captures the feeling of neglect, abandonment and cold. The way the mother tries to protect her daughter is overwhelming.

Street orchestra

I found this mini-orchestra in Paseo Estado, a pedestrianised street where you can find many interesting people, like street vendors, shoe-polishers and people who try to earn some money through music, like this group. They where playing classical music and where quite good actually.

Merry Christmas!

Today is Christmas Day and I want to wish you all very happy holidays from this long, thin and beautiful country called Chile. I hope you had a very nice Christmas eve and enjoyed this non-working day... ;)
To complete yesterday's post, a picture of Santiago's Metropolitan Cathedral's nave.

Waiting for Christmas day

I found this nativity scene in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Santiago. This Cathedral is our main church and is located in Santiago's Plaza de Armas (downtown main square). It's very nicely decorated and its construction began in 1745. An intersting fact is that this is actually the fifth church in the same spot and the third Cathedral (the two previous ones were destroyed by earthquakes)

Happy Holidays to all of you!

The Coke side of Christmas

As usual, Coke is a very omnipresent brand on Christmas, with many events during holidays. I didn't notice the first time I showed you this Christmas tree, but it seems that Coca-Cola is sponsoring it. There were some children asking this Viejito Pascuero (Santa Claus in Chile) the presents they want for Christmas. Sorry I couldn't take a better picture of Santa's assistant... LOL!

The indigenous people monument

This monument, inaugurated in 1992 is dedicated to the "Pueblo Indígena" (Indigenous people), who originally populated Chile. It's located in Santiago's "Plaza de Armas" (downtown main square), and caused a lot of controversy because it shows the broken face of a Mapuche man, although it's a tribute to the bravery of the original inhabitants of Chile.

The Christmas spirit

I took this picture today at the Chilean Main Post Office. Correos de Chile (our public postal service), organizes this event every year, where you can go and read the letters that poor children write to Santa Claus. People choose the letter with more meaning to them and then get that child the present they want. It's a nice initiative, because there are thousand of families that can't afford the presents their children ask Santa Claus.

The empty fountain

I found this empty fountain in the Indian Square I showed you here. It only had some dry leaves inside. It really would add a nice touch to the square, now that summer is only a couple of days away.

100th Post!

Today I'm celebrating my 100th post!
I want to show you the Teresa de los Andes Sanctuary, located in Los Andes, around 80 Km north from Santiago. It's dedicated to Saint Teresa of Jesus of Los Andes, the first chilean saint, canonized in 1993.
It receives more than one hundred thousand pilgrims each month and is a quite beautiful and quiet place, with great surroundings. If you're a catholic person it definitely worths a visit.

The Falabella Palace

Today, walking on the Pedro de Valdivia Avenue, I saw the beautiful Christmas decorations of the Falabella Palace, which houses the Providencia district's Town Hall. There were many people enjoying the evening in the square and the nice chorus of angels on the second floor terrace.

"Welcome to paradise"

Finishing my Sao Paulo series, I wanted to show you the "real" objetive of my trip... To rest peacefully in one of the many beautiful beaches of "Ilhabela" island, located just in front of the Sao Paulo state coast. The island is very safe and has small and cozy hotels and many restaurants. It's definitely a great possibility to consider when planning your next vacations, after Santiago de Chile, of course.

A nordic tradition in the tropic

The Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo is a very nice commercial street. There were many decorated buildings, like the Real Bank. It's funny that in the southern hemisphere Christmas happens during summer so, in a tropical country like Brazil, Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus must be sweating a lot!

The anorexic building

In the "Paulista" Avenue in Sao Paulo I saw this very thin building. It's quite weird and made me wonder about its safety. As you can see, it's connected to its neighbor at the roof...

The Andes from above

I took this picture during my flight to Sao Paulo. You can see the Andes Mountain Range from above, always snowy and majestic, when we were crossing to Argentina. Sao Paulo is less than four hours from Santiago... Definitely great for a weekend escape.

A Merry Square

This is a small part of Santiago's main square, the Plaza de Armas.
As you can see, Christmas spirit has arrived, with a big tree just in front of Santiago's Metropolitan Cathedral.
I hope to show you this beautiful cathedral soon.

P.S.: I won't be posting for a couple of days, because tomorrow I'm leaving to Sao Paulo for a couple of days (this time, just for pleasure...). As far as I know, there's no CDPB of Sao Paulo, so I expect to show you some of this huge Brazilian city once I'm back.

A new tobacco law

Some weeks ago, our Senate approved a very restrictive law against tobacco. It includes the prohibition to smoke in public places and the obligation that half of all cigarette advertising (and half of each cigarette package) must include this advice. It shows a man who lost his larynx because of cancer and the phrase "Attention! These cigarettes are killing you".