Santiago de Chile Daily Photo: January 2007

The German Fountain

Chile has a very important German colony (German descendants), that date from the middle of the XIXth century, specially south from Santiago in the Xth region.
This monument is the German Fountain, donated by the German colony for Chile's independence centenary (1918). It represents a ship, coming out from the Andes Mountain Range and a condor (one of the animals in the Chilean coat of arms) opening its wings.
Please note the sign that says "Don't drink or bathe, polluted waters"...

Palacio Danubio Azul

Last night I went to the Danubio Azul restaurant. I love Chinese food and this place is self-promoted as "the best chinese restaurant in town". I think it's true. The place is big, well decorated, service is good and the food (the most important part) is great and very varied.
These chinese warriors are part of the décor, in an internal patio.
If you come to Santiago, this restaurant is a must.

And she finally caught it

Yesterday, after three days of searching, La Petite Géante finally caught the elusive rhino. She put him in a cage and took it to Valparaiso port, to take him back to Africa.
The people in blue in the picture are the rhino marionette's operators.
The last day of this wonderful show was enjoyed by more than 300.000 people!

La Petite Géante saves the day

Yesterday I showed you a crowd that was astonished by "something"... Well, that something was La Petite Géante (the Small Giantess), a huge marionette who walks around the city, looking for a rhino that escaped from Africa and is hidden somewhere in Santiago. This rhino is the author of the accident I showed you here.
As you can see, the show was an absolute success!
La Petite Géante is a show by the French street theatre company Royal de Luxe and Santiago is the first city outside Europe to receive such a nice visit.

The astonished crowd

In yesterday's post, I showed you an accident that supposedly ocurred in Santiago's main street, the Alameda avenue. What kind of event can gather almost 100.000 people in Santiago's Plaza de Armas? They're watching something that is related to the "accident", and guess what... They love it!
Come back tomorrow for the final chapter...

A huge accident in the Alameda

The Alameda Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, named after Chile's founding father, is Santiago's main street and is 15 Km long.
Yesterday, the Santiaguinos were astonished by this huge accident, which involved two buses and a taxi. It was quite a scene!

Actually, this accident is a hoax, and tomorrow I will show you the author...

Los Naranjos courtyard

Do you remember La Moneda Palace? This building is Chile's government center and its construction ended in 1805. Inside, you can see this courtyard, called Los Naranjos (Orange trees), which is named after the orange trees you can see on both sides of the fountain.
This courtyard was created during the government of President Juan Antonio Ríos (1942-1946), when an old building located in its center that served as a Mint (the original purpose of La Moneda) was demolished.

The Teatro Municipal

Santiago's Teatro Municipal is the city's main Opera House. It opened its doors in 1857, but had to be rebuilt after a fire destroyed it completely in 1870. Here, you can enjoy classical music concerts, ballet and opera. The interior décor is beautiful and I hope I can show it to you soon.

Paris and London

This is the intersection of Paris and Londres streets in Santiago district. As you can see, the cobblestone street has been preserved, which gives this area quite a classic look in a neighborhood that's beginning to change its face into a much more modern one.

A walk in Paris

This is Paris street. It's located in the Santiago district and has a very nice and narrow cobblestone street and a beautiful traditional architecture. These houses were built in the 1920s.
One block from here you can be in both Paris and London at the same time; Paris street crosses Londres (London) street.

Cobblestones in Pedro de Valdivia

This cobblestone street is Pedro de Valdivia Avenue, named after the Spanish conquistador (conqueror) who, between other important things, was the first royal governor of Chile and the founder of Santiago. This street was paved with cobblestones in 1930, along with the construction of houses and the installation of street lights.
Some nice cobblestone-covered streets in old districts in Santiago have been paved over with asphalt. Most people think that these old streets should be preserved, because of their beauty and durability. I'm one of them.

Santiago Stock Exchange

Today, walking in Downtown Santiago, I passed in front of Santiago Stock Exchange, a nice building located between Bandera and New York Streets.
Built in 1913 by the Chilean-French architect Emilio Jecquier, it's another Renaissance-inspired building in Santiago. Other works by the same architect are the Museum of Fine Arts and the Mapocho Train Station.
The Roman number over the clock (1893), stands for the Santiago Stock Exchange foundation.

The Falabella Palace, during daylight

Do you remember when I showed you the Falabella Palace and its Christmas decorations?
This is how it looks by day. It has a really nice renaissance-inspired architecture and windows decorated with Florentine style mosaics.
Under the blue and white tents you can find the antiques I told you about on my previous posts.

The old barber chair

In the antiques and used books fair I told you about yesterday I found this old barber chair. It was in good condition and had three badminton rackets over it. Badminton was just a bit popular in the 80's in Chile, but I haven't seen anyone playing it for years.
Is Badminton more popular in your countries?

Old shoe molds

Do you remember the Falabella Palace? It houses the Providencia district's Town Hall and until january 28th you can see an antiques and used books fair. This table called my attention. You can see many wooden shoe molds, of the size of children feet! They were tied together and looked odd.

A young mummy

This mummy is located in the National Museum of Natural History and belongs to a child.
It was found in 1954 at 5.400 meters above sea level, in El Plomo Hill.
This one is actually a reproduction. The real one is stored in a special container to avoid its damage due to light and humidity.

Show jumping

This weekend, I had the chance to watch a full equestrian competition, that included Jumping and Polo. As I told you before, I love horses and would love to have the skills to practice this sport. The event took place in Quillota, a city located 120 Km northwest from Santiago, where I went for some days for work. Quillota is well known for its plantations of avocados and cherimoyas.

Be right back

I'm leaving the city for the rest of the week for work. As the empty cross in this work by Nicanor Parra's "Obras Públicas" says, I'll be right back. Do you remember I told you this exhibit was controversial? This work is another reason for that. Chile is a very Catholic country and this kind of work can be quite disturbing for some people.

New Year by the ocean

For the New Year's celebrations, I went to Valparaiso, a city located west from Santiago, by the Pacific Ocean. The new year's arrival was illuminated by a huge fireworks show 21 Km long that included 3 cities: Valparaiso, Viña del Mar and Con-Con. They used 15 tons of fireworks and they even want to enter this event into the Guinness records, as one of the most extensive fireworks show in the world!