Cerros and their importance

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The Italian immigrants created Emporios (corner shops) opened at the top of Cerros so people didn’t need to go down to the port so often. These still exist today.

The British immigrants built 28 funiculars (electric cable cars) so that they could go up to their houses in the Cerros without climbing the steps. However only about 10 are still working and Cerros often go out of order and are left unfixed.

My hostel is up Cerro Concepcion which is a nice and a more touristy Cerro. However the funicular/ ascensor was made in 1883 and is the oldest of all ascensors. It is old, rusty and apparently shakes when it goes up. It needs to be repaired but the authorities don’t have the money to do it. In any case as it leads to a very touristy part of Valparaiso and not to any locals' house it is not considered to be a priority. Valparaiso is a mismatch of buildings dilapidated and left unrepaired after destruction from earthquakes, buildings which had been abandoned as they had once belonged to rich immigrants but when the rich moved elsewhere or became less affluent they left their houses behind, streets ruined by fires which have been triggered by dodgy wiring which nobody can be bothered to fix.

Cerro Alegre, which can be accessed by the ‘Peral’ funicular, is another popular hill. It translates to happy hill and used to be full of brothels which is how it got its name. Lots of men went about with a happy smile on their face whilst they were coming down from this hill. It was in this area I saw the graffiti ‘El pollo al velador’ - this literally means chicken next to the bedside table but colloquially means sex by the bedside table. Chileans make fun of the locals by telling them to order ‘el pollo al velador’ in restaurants, claiming it is very tasty chicken. The locals then ask the waiter for this and they end up getting the waiters number and some funny looks.

Cerros all at once give identities to people, create isolation and community all at once. Firstly, they give identities to people. There are 45 cerros in total and each person identifies themself with the Cerro in which they live, for example they would say ‘I am Juan, a porteno from Cerro Concepcion. Immigrants from the same country tend to live at the top of the same Cerro. Secondly, Cerros cause people to be isolated from the town. The inhabitants work, study, shop and do any other jobs at the port or on the flat at the bottom of the Cerros. Each person climbs down to the port, down the maze of stairs no more than once a day due to it being so much effort. The inhabitants are therefore confined to their neighbourhoods for most of the day. Lastly, Cerros create communities because people rely on their neighbours a lot, for example when one person climbs down to the town they offer to do their neighbours shopping so less trips down to the town are made. People spend a long time chatting with their neighbours everyday.

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