Valparaiso: The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful

Valparaiso, or Valpo as it is known locally, is a tough port city with the highest crime rate in Chile. Nevertheless, it's an intriguing and culturally rich UNESCO World Heritage Site. Most of the muggings are of the snatch and grab variety. With a little caution and common sense the risks are minimized and we were certainly glad we visited! Valpo continues to have an old world feel to it. Some people say that not much has changed during the past century. 

                      

The original name of the area was Valle de Paraiso (Paradise Valley) hence the name Valparaiso. That's hard to imagine as you stare into an industrialized harbour but the nearby resort city of Vina del Mar has top notch gardens and beaches. Many sailors arrived in Valpo after a long journey from Europe via Cape Horn. An earthquake in 1906 severely damaged the city and thus the national economy. Further decay set in after the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 which siphoned off a lot of business. The city has recovered and is a really terrific spot to watch a bustling port in action.  

Numerous other enterprises unfold at the entrance to Prat Pier. A horde of skippers solicit passengers for a twenty minute trip around the harbour in a fishing skiff, their loud voices drowning out more timid hawkers such as the gentleman that we saw selling jewelry arranged on a pillow! Further along the shore a sea lion seemed to be auditioning for a job.  

Sotomayor Square is the oceanfront gateway and heart of the city. Its focal point is the Monument to the Heroes of the War of the Pacific with an its eternal flame. The pale blue Neo-classical Naval Command Headquarters was once a summer residence for presidents. The sea ran nearly to the steps of the building. To construct the plaza the site was fortified but remnants of the old pier and shipwrecks remain buried. Until recently you could view them in a subterranean museum.  

Victoria Plaza is another lively historical site built on the reclaimed land adjacent to the sea. During the colonial era it was the administrative centre and used for public events such as markets, bull fights and hangings. It has had to be rebuilt a number of times. Its current design, which includes St. James Cathedral and an ornamental fountain of Greek Gods, dates to 1910. Two lions are holdovers from the old Victoria Theatre which collapsed in the earthquake of 1906. I was captivated by the three dimensional appearance of the flagstones which create the illusion of being at sea.     

           

Just a few blocks away is the National Congress of Chile, a modern looking building that was built at the end of the Pinochet era. It's just around the corner from the main bus depot in Valparaiso and has a unique appearance but sticks out like a sore thumb. Most legislative buildings are located among other edifices of a similar stature. I researched why this spot was chosen and learned that it is the site of one of Pinochet's childhood homes!  

   

One of the interesting things about Valpo is that it's built over forty hills. This makes for a lot of climbing which is why the citizens are supposedly known for their beautiful legs! For those less inclined to walk there are thirty historic funiculars that shuttle people short distances for just a few coins. You might wonder why they are necessary but the roads are all winding and you could otherwise spend a lot of time navigating the uphill switchbacks on foot. 

  

Above Sotomayor, Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepcion are affluent quarters that are a labyrinth of old colonial mansions, passageways, terraces and artisan stalls. The most regal of the buildings is the Baburizza Palace with its bougainvillea hedge. It was constructed by Italian architects in 1916 and privately owned prior to becoming a museum in 1971 and official historic monument in 1976. Today it's the Fine Arts Museum with many ornate features both inside and out.   

Concepcion and Alegre streets are famous for lively music and murals. Many Chilean jurisdictions permit licensed street art but here it was granted free reign at the end of the Pinochet era in to celebrate the return of freedom of expression. Graffiti is a dilemma throughout Chile and Argentina where it is a means of social, political and economic protest. Few public or private properties seem to be immune. The murals provide an effective alternative to that headache. 

     

Valpo's art extends beyond trendy surroundings and tourist areas. Rougher streets and modern apartment complexes have dashes of creative flair. The message is often symbolic and insightful. For example, the mural (below) created by the acclaimed artist named Inti combines his trademark contrasts of prosperity and hardship. There's an expression in Chile that means when your feet are above the level of your head, times are tough.

Higher up the hills and further away from the water you have to be more wary about safety. The informal boundary is Avenida Alemania which wiggles across the middle of the hills. Along the way there was a gorgeous wall of morning glories. The road  passes Bismarck Square which provides expansive views plus some artistic touches like tiled columns.       

  

Calle Ferrari has some interesting shops, a poet's square and La Sebastiana, the most famous house in the city. It belonged to Pablo Neruda who became known for his poetry at thirteen and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. He was also a diplomat and Senator of the Chilean Communist Party, a friend and advisor to Salvador Allende. In 1948 a warrant was issued for his arrest. Friends hid him in the basement of a house in Valparaiso for months until he escaped through a mountain pass to Argentina. In 1973 Neruda was hospitalized with cancer but returned home when he suspected a doctor had injected him with a substance to kill him on Pinochet's orders. He died hours later. In 2015 the government admitted that it was "highly likely" he died due to the "intervention of third parties".       

Neruda loved La Sebastiana so much he wrote a poem about it. He decorated it like a toy and added a lot of quirky curios. For example, a carousel was placed within the circular entranceway to give it the semblance of going around and around indefinitely. According to Neruda, "A child who does not play is not a child, but the man who does not play has lost forever the child who lived in him.” After Neruda’s death his doctor recalled hearing a fluttering noise and found an eagle trapped in  the living room. Neruda had once told him that he would like to be reincarnated as an eagle.   

Neruda once famously said, "Valparaíso, how absurd you are…you haven't combed your hair, you've never had time to get dressed, life has always surprised you!" On that note I will conclude this blog. We're beginning to look a little raggedy ourselves and are ready for a little more creature comfort. It's time to head for home. 

Thanks to everybody who has read my blogs and especially anyone who has sent me a comment or asked a question about the content. It has taken a lot of work under sometimes trying circumstances but it will help us to savour forever our remarkable three months in "Another Land Down Under".