Chile - Selk'nam

SEK'NAM (ONAS) - TIERRA DEL FUEGO - CHILE
The Onas lived in Tiera del Fuego. The paintings are representation of different Divinities during the Hain initiation ceremony.

Sent by Arnold, a postcrosser from Santiago, Chile.

Chile - Roberto Matta : Attouchement, 1955

Roberto Matta : Attouchement, 1955

Sent by my great pal Hernán from Santiago, Chile.

This is from Wikipedia : Roberto Sebastián Antonio Matta Echaurren (November 11, 1911 – November 23, 2002), better known as Roberto Matta, was one of Chile's best-known painters and a seminal figure in 20th century abstract expressionist and surrealist art.

Born in Santiago, he initially studied architecture at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago, but became disillusioned with this occupation and left for Paris in 1933. His travels in Europe and the USA led him to meet artists such as Arshile Gorky, René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, André Breton, and Le Corbusier. Matta was of Spanish, Basque and French descent.

It was Breton who provided the major spur to the Chilean's direction in art, encouraging his work and introducing him to the leading members of the Paris Surrealist movement. Matta produced illustrations and articles for Surrealist journals such as Minotaure. During this period he was introduced to the work of many prominent contemporary European artists, such as Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp.
 

Chile

CHILE
Friendly People And Unspoiled Nature.

Sent by Arnold, a postcrosser from Santiago, Chile.

Chile - Circuito Cultural Transantiago

What is it? It's a special Transantiago bus loop tour that will take you to the main attractions of the city including museums, cultural centres, typical areas an heritage buildings. The bus circuit operates on Sundays and holidays between 10:00AM and 6:30PM.
How can I use it? You can get on Cicuito Cultural in the circuit bus stops marking your Bip! Card* only once, a courier will give you a bracelet that will allow you to board the buses of the circuit as many times as you like and to continue visiting other places of your interest.

Sent by my best friend Hernán from Santiago, Chile.

This is from Wikipedia : Transantiago is a public transport system that serves Santiago, the capital of Chile. It is considered the most ambitious transport reform undertaken by a developing country according to the World Resources Institute.

The system was introduced on February 10, 2007. It standardized bus routes and eliminated redundancy of same; redundancies were commonplace in the old system, which was run by thousands of independent bus operators. The system combines local (feeder) bus lines, main bus lines and the Metro (subway) network. It includes an integrated fare system, which allows passengers to make bus-to-bus or bus-to-metro transfers for the price of one ticket, using a single contactless smart card.

Transantiago's implementation was problematic, as the decreased bus fleet and the newer routes have proved insufficient to properly serve a population inadequately informed of pending changes. The major complaints are the lack of buses and their inconsistent frequencies, missing or poor infrastructure (such as segregated corridors, prepaid areas and bus stops), the network's coverage, and the number of transfers needed for longer trips. As a result, users have overcrowded the Metro, which is generally held to be fast and dependable.

Transantiago's first stage of implementation began on October 22, 2005, when a group of ten new companies took control of the capital's bus system, immediately introducing 1,181 new, modern low-floor buses (approximately half of them being articulated) made by Volvo in Brazil, replacing 461 yellow-colored buses from the old system. The new buses will temporarily run alongside the over 7,000 existing older buses that will be gradually removed from the system until 2010. In October 2006, a users' information system was introduced.

Transantiago became fully operational on February 10, 2007 with the introduction of a new route system dividing bus lines into two complementary groups: main and local lines. In addition, a new fare structure was implemented, allowing transfers at small or zero fares between buses and metro, when using the new contactless smartcard. 1,776 new buses will operate at this stage. The older yellow-colored (now painted over) buses will only operate through the secondary local lines in conjunction with new but simpler buses. It is expected that by 2010, the older buses will be completely replaced by over 4,600 new vehicles.

Chile - Cueca

Cueca, Chilean folklore dance. TROVA Group.

Sent by Noelle, a postcrosser from Santiago, Chile.

This is from Wikipedia : Cueca (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkweka]) is a family of musical styles and associated dances from Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina. In Chile, the cueca holds the status of national dance, where it was officially selected on September 18, 1979.

While its origins are not clearly defined, it is considered to have Spanish and African influences, among others. The most widespread version of its origins relates it with the zamacueca which arose in Peru as a variation of Spanish Fandango dancing with criollo and African influences. The dance is then thought to have passed to Chile and Bolivia, where its name was shortened and where it continued to evolve. Due to the dance's popularity in the region, the Peruvian evolution of the zamacueca was nicknamed "la chilena", "the Chilean", due to similarities between the dances. Later, after the Pacific War, the term marinera, in honor of Peru's naval combatants and hostile attitude towards Chile was used in place of "la chilena." The Marinera, Zamba and the Cueca have different styles that distinct them from each other and their "root" which is the zamacueca.

Another theory is that Cueca originated in the early 19th century bordellos of South America, as a pas de deux facilitating partner finding.

The usual interpretation of this courting dance is zoomorphic: it tries to reenact the courting ritual of a rooster and a hen. The male displays a quite enthusiastic and at times even aggressive attitude while attempting to court the female, but the dance often finishes with the man kneeling on one knee, with the woman placing her foot triumphantly on his raised knee.

The clothing worn during the cueca dance is very traditional Chilean clothes. The men in the dance wear the huaso's hat, shirts, flannel poncho, riding pants and boots, short jacket, riding boots, and spurs. Women wore flowered dresses with an apron. (spotlightonchile.com) The dance of the cueca is done with a sense of the rooster and the chicken. The man approaches the woman and offers his arm, then the women accompanies him and they walk around the room. They then face each other and hold their handkerchief in the air, and being to dance. They never touch, but still maintain contact through facial expressions and movements. The white handkerchief must be waved; this writer has seen Chileans using paper handkerchieves from a box rather than dance the cueca without one.(spotlightonchile.com)

Chile - Barrio La Matriz de Valparaiso

CHILE
Valparaiso
Barrio La Matriz

Sent by my good friend Hernán from Santiago de Chile. 'Terima kasih' for the beautiful stamps.

Chile

Sent by Noelle, a postcrosser from Chile.

Chile - Mapuche Woman

Mapuche woman.

Sent by my best pal Hernán from Santiago de Chile.

Chile - Reñaca Beach

Viña del Mar - Chile.
Reñaca beach.

Sent by my great friend Hernán from Santiago, Chile.

This is from Wikipedia : Reñaca is at the northernmost extreme of the city of Viña del Mar and has been incorporated by it. To the north, along the coast road, is the area of Cochoa and then the town of Concón. It is known mostly as a summer vacation area and receives a very large influx of tourists during the summer months (December-February). The tourist part of town is clustered around the main beach, which is referred to locally as "long beach" and is divided non-physically into five sectors (1-5). The lower part of the hill overlooking the beach is covered with somewhat unique staircase residential buildings that sprawl up the hillside. These apartments are mostly owned by outsiders and remain empty during the off-season (March-November). The town also extends eastwards up the valley through which the Estero de Reñaca flows, it is here that the majority of the year-round population lives. The town has reached its housing capacity in the valley and has grown up the hillsides into the neighborhoods of Los Almendros and Jardin del Mar.

Reñaca has grown slowly but steadily over the years, from a very small community to a more self-sufficient town which lacks few of the commodities of a proper city. As expected of a summer resort town, there is a great gama of wonderful hotels, apartment rentals, lively nightlife activities and excellent seafood and international cuisine restaurants.

It is the home of The Mackay School the first British school in Chile and one of the oldest in the Southern Hemisphere. It is an all boys school. The Sagrado Corazon school is also a long-time resident and was a girls only school until 2007. Both schools arrived in Reñaca around 1965 and were the only schools in the town until the early nineties when a group of already established schools moved from Viña del Mar to the upper reaches of the north side of town. The Universidad del Mar also recently built a very large campus on the northern side of the stream valley.

Chile - South Regions

CHILE
Images of the south of Chile; Araucaria (national tree of Chile), a threshing scene of wheat, pelicans - part of the fishing activities, vegetatioion, grass and animals raised in the southern regions.

Sent by my great friend Hernán from Santiago, Chile.

Chile - Condorito

Condorito, a condor with the personality of a common Chilean guy.

Sent by my great friend Hernán from Santiago, Chile.

This is from Wikipedia : Condorito is a comic strip that features an anthropomorphic condor living in a fictitious town named Pelotillehue — a typical small Chilean provincial town. He is meant to be a representation of the Latin American people.

Condorito was created by the Chilean cartoonist René Ríos, known as Pepo. In spite of his Chilean origin, Condorito is very popular throughout Latin America, where the character is considered part of the general popular culture, and has a growing readership in the United States as well[citation needed]. Condorito and his friends appear in a daily comic strip.

The structure of Condorito is very simple: each page is an independent joke, without any continuity with others (though some jokes are larger or shorter than one page). The jokes are often sexist or male chauvinistic in nature, and some of the details included in the artwork are gender-dependent, but the humor is usually couched in double-entendres that children would be unlikely to understand.

One peculiar characteristic of Condorito is that the character that goes through the embarrassing moment and/or serves as the butt of the joke in a given strip almost always falls backwards to the floor (legs visible or out of frame) in the final panel, although new comic strips have now put the victim of the joke looking at the reader instead. This classic comic strip "flop take" is accompanied by a free-fall onomatopoeic sound (usually ¡Plop!). From time to time, this is replaced by the victim of the joke saying ¡Exijo una explicación! ("I demand an explanation!"), usually as a twist or downbeat ending.

Chile - Chiquicamata

Sent by my great friend Hernán from Santiago, Chile.

This is from Wikipedia : Chuquicamata, or "Chuqui" as it is more familiarly known, is a large open pit copper mine in the north of Chile, 215 km northeast of Antofagasta and 1,240 km north of the capital, Santiago. It's 850 metres (2,790 ft) deep, make it the 2nd deepest open-pit mine in the world (after Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah, USA).

For many years it was the mine with the largest annual production in the world but was recently overtaken by Minera Escondida. Nevertheless it remains the mine with by far the largest total production of approximately 29 million tonnes of copper to the end of 2007 (excluding Radomiro Tomić). Despite over 90 years of intensive exploitation it remains one of the largest known copper resources. Its open pit is the worlds largest at 4.3 km long, 3 km wide and over 900 m deep and its smelter and electrolytic refinery (855,000 tonnes p.a.) are amongst the world's largest. Chuquicamata is also a significant producer of molybdenum.

Chuquicamata is now amalgamated with the operating Radomiro Tomić mine to the north (but still on the same mineralised system), the developing Alejandro Hales mine just to the south (formerly Mansa Mina, a slightly impolite description) and the recently discovered 'Toki cluster' of copper porphyries to form the Codelco Norte division of Codelco.

Chile - Villarrica Volcano

Villarrica volcano, view from Calafquén Lake.

Sent by Daniela from Santiago, Chile.

This is from Wikipedia : Snow-covered Villarrica, one of Chile's most active volcanoes, rises above the lake and town of the same name. The volcano is also known as Rucapillán, a Mapuche word meaning "House of the Pillán". It is the westernmost of three large stratovolcanoes that trend perpendicular to the Andean chain along the Gastre Fault. Villarrica, along with Quetrupillán and the Chilean portion of Lanín, are protected within Villarrica National Park. Ascents of the volcano are popular with several guided ascents reaching the top during summer.

Villarrica, with its lava of basaltic-andesitic composition, is one of only five volcanoes worldwide known to have an active lava lake within its crater. The volcano usually generates strombolian eruptions, with ejection of incandescent pyroclasts and lava flows. Melting of snow and glacier ice as well as rainfalls often cause massive lahars (mud and debris flows), such as during the eruptions of 1964 and 1971.

Villarica's symmetrical edifice stands in the Chilean Central Valley as the westernmost of an alignment of three large stratovolcanoes. The alignment is attributed to the existence of an old fracture in the crust, the North West-West trending sinistral Gastre Fault Zone, the other volcanoes in the chain Quetrupillán and Lanín are far less active. This alignment is unusual as it crosses the N-S running Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault, around which most currently active volcanoes are aligned. Currently the volcano covers up an area of 400 km2 and has a volume 250 km3 according to estimates.

About 25 scoria cones dot Villarica's flanks. It also has volcanic caves. The constant degassing at the lava lake turns Villarrica's otherwise quite effusive lava more viscous, heightening its explosive potential. Two large ignimbrite layers are visible around the volcano; the Licán Ignimbrite and later the Pucón Ignimbrite.

Villarrica emerged as a volcano during the Middle Pleistocene and grew forming a large stratocone of similar dimensions to the current edifice. 100 thousand years ago during the Valdivia Interglacial the ancestral Villarrica collapsed following an eruption and formed a large elliptical caldera of 6.5 and 4.2 km in diameter. During the Llanquihue Glaciation (Last Glaciation) Villarrica produced pyroclastic flow deposits, subglacial andesite lavas and dacite dykes. The volcano collapsed once again 13,700 years ago forming a new smaller caldera, among other pyroclastic flows the Licán Ignimbrite has been related to this event. Beginning with the Licán Ignimbrite, generated just after the last deglaciation, activity continued in similar fashion. The Pucón Ignimbrite was ejected during a minor collapse the uppermost stratocone 3,700 years ago.

Chile - Calle Cathedral in Plaza de Armas, Santiago

Past and present : Calle Catedral in Plaza de Armas in Santiago

Sent by Daniela from Santiago, Chile.

"Nothing encompasses the essence of Santiago like the Plaza de Armas. In times when even locating the centre on a city map can be challenging, this square remains the unrivalled heart and soul of the capital and has more than enough to support this attribution. It’s not just kilómetro cero, the point from which all distances in the country refer to, it’s also got some of the nation’s most accomplished architecture, a free-style fusion of fountains, sculptures, palm trees and a theatrical spectacle of charlatans and bystanders that seem trapped in a warp zone of a non-stop chaos. The Plaza de Armas packs a punch of sensations, ranging from nostalgia to scandal. On the face of it, it’s old-fashioned, innocuous and almost provincial, frequented by elderly gentlemen and grannies with playful children, but it’s equally strident and outrageous, where argumentative youngsters clash with Evangelical street preachers and where passionate utopians rally to make their voice heard. Don’t expect to find here the same atmosphere twice. The one feature of this Plaza is a slight schizophrenia: while it often welcomes you to stroll around, sit back or even succumb to a siesta; at times the crowds, the heat and the deafening buzz of the environment will make you run for miles. Then again, that is in itself another quintessential trait of the centro histórico, which the Plaza de Armas conveys flawlessly.

It’s hard to exaggerate the historical importance of the Plaza de Armas. As the midpoint of the Spanish settlement of 1541, the square was once a military training ground – hence its name – but with time it became the focus of Santiago’s social and commercial life. The city’s main supplier of food and goods, the Mercado de Abastos operated here since the 1600s until its relocation in 1817. An aqueduct used to link the square with the river supplying residents with fresh water through a fountain which was later removed and is now displayed at La Moneda. The square has endured constant changes through the centuries, but even a much controversial refurbishment of 1999 - which attempted a more piazza-esque look, at the expense of half of its former vegetation – has been unable to demote it from its status as Santiago’s primary civic centre. Since the city’s foundation, the square has been the address of some of the key buildings in the capital, including a succession of city halls, courts, old jails and of course, the Cathedral, which towers over the plaza.

No less than four different churches have stood at the site of the Catedral Metropolitana, each of them devastated by a different calamity. The present-day building was commissioned in 1747 and several government-sponsored architects including Toesca and Celli were involved in its design. Planning variations, however, have come thick and fast since that day, and the splendidly ornate façade by Italian architect Ignazio Cremonesi wasn’t completely finished until 1906. The size of the Cathedral cannot be fully appreciated from the front entrance, so make sure you duck around Calle Catedral to observe the building in its full monolithic dimensions. The interior of the church reveals a more understated decoration than its façade suggests. It is nonetheless a beautifully adorned church, but it falls a little short of the intimacy and emotiveness of the likes of la Merced or San Agustín. A visit to the next-door exhibition dedicated to sacred art could compliment a tour of the Cathedral, although its presence goes often undetected since it only opens to the public on Mondays.

A group of public buildings have been swapping locations on the north side of the Plaza de Armas since the 16th century as a result of successive earthquake devastation. Bordering Calle Rosas is the Correo Central or Central Post Office, standing at the former site of the city governors' residence. This eye-catching building was made using the remnants of a previous construction and adding a façade and roof with a dissonant rococo style. Further down Calle Rosas is the Cuartel de Bomberos, headquarters of the city’s oldest Fire Brigade and the first ever public building in the capital to incorporate private commercial outlets in an effort to generate a more stable income for the firemen, who continue to serve on a voluntary basis even today. At the eastern end of the plaza stands the Municipalidad de Santiago or City Hall for the municipal authority of Santiago Centro. On its doorstep stands the equestrian statue of Pedro de Valdivia, founder of Santiago and top figure of country’s early colonial history. Squeezed between the Correo and the Municipalidad is the clock towered Real Audiencia, which these days houses the Museo Histórico Nacional, displaying a range of archaeological collections, paintings, artefacts and a random assembly of objects that attempt to eloquently narrate the complexities of Chilean history. It may not be the most exhilarating museum of the capital, but you shouldn’t dismiss it too quickly either. There are curious pieces to be seen, and if Spanish American colonial history happens to be your thing, this museum could be an unexpected treat.

Facing the Plaza from the south is the cheap and cheerful Portal Fernández Concha, a kasbah of eateries and quick snack shops with few delicacies to be found, but with stacks of chatty waiters and friendly regulars. Stretching out of the Plaza de Armas in direction of the Alameda are two pedestrian walks, the Paseo Ahumada, Santiago’s unrivalled main drag and Paseo Estado, a less iconic version of the Ahumada, but almost identically busy. The Paseo Ahumada, like the Plaza de Armas, has endured controversial transformations in recent years; the fountains that used to beautify it were placed elsewhere and its original cobblestones were removed in favour of modern paving stones. But you’ll find it hard to even notice this because you’ll be struck by the sheer amount of people that parade on this street at any time of the day. Raising your head above the crowds, you’ll realise that the Paseo Ahumada has some truly beautiful architecture as well as its fair share of modern eyesores. If it all becomes a little too much for you, take cover in one of the hundreds of Galerías (arcades) that crisscross the busy streets, which create something of a parallel network of thoroughfares. You can enjoy a delightful view of some of their decadent ornamentation before resurfacing on the streets of the pulsating centro histórico."(read more)

Chile - Rapa Nui National Park (2)

CHILE - RAPA NUI
Mysterious and paradise, full of life and color. Rapa Nui, a place not to forget.

Sent by Daniela from Santiago, Chile.

Chile - Angela Loij

Tierra del Fuego. Angela Loij, joven Selk'nam (Ona).

Sent by Hernán, my great friend from Santiago, Chile.

"The Indians had been the owners of Tierra del Fuego for thousands of years. A hundred years ago the Selk'nam (Ona) numbered probably between 3,500 and 4,000. N.1 Now only a few remain whose mothers were Selk'nam. On 28 May 1974, one of the very last Selk'nam, Angela Loij, died.

Angela was born at the beginning of the century. By then most of the Selk'nam had been killed by the Whites and or had died from sicknesses which they had brought to the island. And even after she was born others died in the country-side and in the two Salesian missions (on Dawson Island and in Tierra del Fuego, near the town of Río Grande). Angela was born north of Río Grande, on a sheep farm which still exists called Estancia Sara. She often told me about her family. Her father, Loij, who worked as a peon, mostly fencing in the fields where the sheep grazed. Her two sisters died as children on the Sara farm. Her mother, another sister and her two brothers died in the Salesian mission near Río Grande. One of her brothers, Pascual, about twelve years old then, used to say: "I like to study. I want to learn everything." Angela commented: "He already knew how to read when he died." Of her four sisters, Teresa, only one who lived to be old enough to marry and have children. Teresa's grand-daughter, Ermerlinda (who now lives in Ushuaia) was very much loved by Angela." (read more)

Chile - Birds of Chile

Aves de Chile or Birds of Chile.
1. Picaflor (Sephanoides galeritus). 2. Viudita (Colorhamphus parvirostis). 3. Loica (Sturnella loyca). 4. Siete Colores (Tachuris rubrigastra). 5. Traro (Polyborus plancus). 6. Cometocino (Phyrygilus patagonicus). 7. Queltehue (Vanellus chilensis). 8. Caiquen (Chloephaga picta). 9. Peuco (Parabuteo unicinctus). 10. Flamenco (Phoenicopterus chilensis). 11. Aguilucho (Buteo polyosoma). 12. Tricahue (Cyanoliseus patagonus).

Sent by Daniela from Santiago. Chile.

Chile - Isla Grande de Chiloe

CASTRO - ISLA GRANDE DE CHILOE - CHILE
Stilted houses at the entrance to the city.

Sent by my great friend Hernán from Santiago, Chile.

This is from Wikipedia : Chiloé Island (Spanish: Isla de Chiloé), also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (Isla Grande de Chiloé), is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern Chile, in the Los Lagos Region.

Chiloé Island (8,394 km², 3241 sq mi), is the second largest island in Chile (and the fifth largest in South America), after the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. It is separated from the Chilean mainland by the Chacao Strait ("Canal Chacao") to the north, and by the Gulf of Ancud (Golfo de Ancud) and the Gulf of Corcovado (Golfo Corcovado) to the east; the Pacific ocean lies to the west, and the Chonos Archipelago lies to the south, across the Boca del Guafo. The island is 190 km (118 mi) from north to south, and averages 55–65 km wide (35 to 40 mi). The capital is Castro, on the east side of the island; the second largest town is Ancud, at the island's northwest corner, and there are several smaller port towns on the east side of the island, such as Quellón, Dalcahue and Chonchi.

Chiloé Island and the Chonos Archipelago are a southern extension of the Chilean coastal range, which runs north and south, parallel to the Pacific coast and the Andes Mountains. The Chilean Central Valley lies between the coastal mountains and the Andes, of which the Gulfs of Ancud and Corcovado form the southern extension. Mountains run north and south along the spine of the island. The east coast is deeply indented, with several natural harbors and numerous smaller islands.

Chile - La Silla Observatory

OBSERVATORIO ASTRONOMICO DE LA SILLA - CHILE
La Silla, Astronomic Observatory located between the cities of La Serena and Vallenar.

Sent by my best friend Hernán from Santiago in Chile.

This is from Wikipedia : La Silla Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Chile with eighteen telescopes. Nine of these telescopes were built by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) organisation, and several of the others are partly maintained by ESO. The observatory is one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.

La Silla is a 2400 m high mountain, bordering the southern extremity of the Atacama Desert in Chile. It is located about 160 km north of La Serena, 27 km south of Las Campanas Observatory, and 100 km north of Cerro Tololo Observatory.

Originally known as Cinchado, the mountain was renamed La Silla (the saddle) after its shape. It rises quite isolated and remote from any artificial light and dust sources. La Silla was the first observatory in Chile used by ESO.

Chile - Torres del Paine

TORRES DEL PAINE NATIONAL PARK, PATAGONIA
Declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, this park not only contains some of the most breathtaking landscapes in Chile, but also 25 species of mmal and more than 115 species of bird.

Sent by Fernando from Santiago, Chile.

This is from UNESCO : Torres del Paine and Bernardo O'Higgins National Parks include over 90% of the Southern Patagonian Icefield; the remainder of it, across the border in Argentina, is included within Los Glaciares National Park (W.H.Site). The area of the proposed site is 37.073 sq.km. Besides the icefield that follows the main Andes rnage for approximately 350 km in a north south direction, the site includes outlying ranges such as tha Paine Massif, well known as a scenic area and as a challenging mountain climbimg destination. To the west, the site extends to the open waters of the Pacific Ocean through a maze of fiords and islands, that show different examples and stages of glacial action and periglacial ecosystems succession. The area was given National Park status by succesive decrees issued from 1959 thruogh 1975.