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iP15PM_7515_Santiago_Type.jpf
Founded in 1541, Santiago, a city of eight million people, has been the capital city of Chile since colonial times. About 40% of Chileans reside in Santiago, making it one of Latin America’s most populated cities and Chile’s cultural, political, and economic center. The city has a downtown core of 19th-century neoclassical architecture and winding side-streets running the gamut from the 16th-century San Francisco Church to the Gran Torre Costanera, the tallest building in South America. Santiago is within an hour's drive of both the mountains, the Pacific Ocean, and vineyards specializing in cabernet sauvignon. It is the only city in the world that offers skiing high up in the majestic Andes, followed a mere 90 minutes later by walks on the beach and surfing in the Pacific Ocean.
In Chile’s long history there is one major historical event that dwarfs most others. On September 11, 1973, the Chilean military, led by General Agosto Pinochet, launched a coup against the democratically elected socialist government of Salvador Allende. Allende made his final broadcast from Santiago’s presidential palace, La Moneda, announcing that he would not resign the presidency with the cry, “Long live Chile! Long live the people! Long live the workers!” Under heavy attack from the tanks and fighter jets Allende died during the final hours of the coup, in what was reported as his suicide.
Pinochet declared himself the leader of Chile, proclaimed a State of Internal War, imposed martial law and carried out a brutal campaign to destroy resistance. In 2011, the Chilean government acknowledged that more than 40,000 people had been murdered, disappeared, or tortured by the Pinochet dictatorship.
In 2010 Chilean President Michelle Bachelet inaugurated the Museum of Memory and Human Rights to commemorate the victims of Pinochet’s dictatorship. Today the museum is freely open to the public and a monument for examples from the past to inform our struggles of today.
In Chile’s long history there is one major historical event that dwarfs most others. On September 11, 1973, the Chilean military, led by General Agosto Pinochet, launched a coup against the democratically elected socialist government of Salvador Allende. Allende made his final broadcast from Santiago’s presidential palace, La Moneda, announcing that he would not resign the presidency with the cry, “Long live Chile! Long live the people! Long live the workers!” Under heavy attack from the tanks and fighter jets Allende died during the final hours of the coup, in what was reported as his suicide.
Pinochet declared himself the leader of Chile, proclaimed a State of Internal War, imposed martial law and carried out a brutal campaign to destroy resistance. In 2011, the Chilean government acknowledged that more than 40,000 people had been murdered, disappeared, or tortured by the Pinochet dictatorship.
In 2010 Chilean President Michelle Bachelet inaugurated the Museum of Memory and Human Rights to commemorate the victims of Pinochet’s dictatorship. Today the museum is freely open to the public and a monument for examples from the past to inform our struggles of today.
- Copyright
- Tim Hawkins
- Image Size
- 6000x4500 / 4.1MB
- Contained in galleries
- The Thin Country