Santiago - Chile

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http://www.heygo.com 3rd February- Santiago - Chile



We started our virtual tour today in front of the Palacio de La Mineda (Palace of Mint)

The seat of the President Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: It occupies an entire block in the area known as Civic District.



We heard how Chile’s armed forces stage a coup d’état on 9/11 1973 against the government of President Allende, the first democratically elected Marxist leader in Latin America. Allende retreated with his supporters to La Moneda, this fortress-like presidential palace which was surrounded by tanks and infantry and bombed by air force jets. Allende survived the aerial attack but then apparently shot himself to death as troops stormed the burning palace, reportedly using an automatic rifle given to him as a gift by Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

Myriam showed a photo of the bombed palace.



On 11 September 1973, after an extended period of social unrest and political tension between the opposition-controlled Congress and the Socialist President, as well as economic war ordered by President Richard Nixon,

A group of military officers led by General Pinochet seized power in the coup, ending civilian rule.



In 1990, Chile made a peaceful transition to democracy, iniciating a succession of democratic governments.



As we walked along tree lined streets we came to a building located at 52 Nueva York Street, a wedge-shaped building completed in 1921 and considered the first "skyscraper" in Santiago. It was the first office building in Santiago with an elevator and bears a resemblance to the Flatiron building in New York.



Another interesting building was The Santiago Stock Exchange, founded on November 27, 1893, the third largest stock exchange in Latin America.



What came next was quite a surprise, opened in 2017 and designed by a Chilean visual artist the entire 35,500-square-foot floor mural sprawls across almost four blocks and three sections.

Bandera Street had been closed to traffic while the Santiago Metro was under construction. The temporary pedestrian promenade installation was a hit with both the locals and the city Mayor—so much so, they’re now hoping to keep it.

The artwork painted directly onto the asphalt took 30 days to complete. A 400-yard-long stretch of rainbow-colored swirls and three-dimensional illusions, each section represents a piece of Chilean history, their diverse culture, and colorful future.

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