[Above left: I am displaying my visitor's page at the entrance of La Moneda Palace]
[Above right: I am standing at President Michelle Bachelet's podium where she makes her national televised speeches. Does that mean that this Michelle is on her way to becoming a president? Time will tell ;) ]
4. A emotionally evocative experience: La Moneda
Several weeks ago, I went to the La Moneda Palace. The palace is significant as the presidential workplace (the president, unlike the US president, lives in her own home) and symbol of Chilean government. The palace, which does not really represent a palace but instead is like a rectangular fortress, is located at the heart of the capital amidst a mix of modern structures and buildings dating back from Spanish colonial times.
I can barely describe my emotional experience while visiting La Moneda. You see, last year for my IB Extended Essay, I researched US government policy during the Cold War, focusing on the US contribution to the Chilean Coup of 1973 that overthrew its democratically elected Socialist president Allende to instate an authoritarian regime under Pinochet of nearly two decades.
By walking into the spaces where these presidents must have been, touching the place marking Allende's place of death, and seeing the emotional and physical remnants of the dictatorship, I felt the reality of history for the first time. I finally understood that a dictatorship had occurred on the soil that I am standing on now and that those scars have not yet healed in the country.
Driving into Downtown Santiago
...Notice the cobblestone streets? They are marvelous.
(Above: street to La Moneda; to the right is the Catedral de Santiago in construction... do you see the fabric with the cathedral painting? I thought it was the real thing the first few times.)
(Above: To the right of the street picture above is the building pictured. This building is the Museo of Bellos Artes, a renowned museum that hosts both nationally and internationally acclaimed pieces. I have yet to visit it)
(Above: Another street picture. You can kind of see me in the car mirror. Notice the mix of architecture, both old and new juxtapositioned. Also, the composition of automobiles here is mostly cars; it is uncommon to see motorcycles and trucks - both commercial and individual. On another note, it is really common for there to be street vendors selling food or performing 'shows urbanos' like tossing around fire, although the fire part is not that common.)
Entering La Moneda
My Chilean mother and I were 15 minutes late for our tour so, after turning into our passports and ID card so that the police could have them on file, we were led into various hallways by a Carabinero (policeman) to try to locate our tour group. Truthfully, I appreciate that we were late because it skipped boring tour details. Instead, we were given a fast-forward tour session going around every part of the palace before meeting up with our guide.
(Above: Me in front of the palace)
(Above: I took a picture with a Carabinero. He was really nice and actually offered to have a picture be taken of him. I suppose he is used to having his picture taken.)
(Above: a female Carabinero - meaning 'police' - as we enter into the main plaza which hosts foreign ambassadors and the like in outdoor events.)
(Above: Me in one of the many rooms of the palace. Every room had at least one old painting of an important historical figure in Chilean history painted beautifully. Funny/embarrassing story: I walked on the rug pictured in the background to get a better luck at the painting and was yelled at in Spanish and English to get off it. Turns out it is a several-hundred-years-old rug that is deteriorating. Oops.)
(Above: The second story was, and still is, the office of the president. This square sector of the palace was bombed heavily during the coup because Allende was here. Therefore, this part was closed off for a long time by the dictatorship to avoid remembrance of Allende and was recently reconstructed)
(Above: A carabinero leading us to a memorial of Allende.)
(Above: The spot of Allende's death. On the opposite wall, not pictured, is a plaque listing the names of people who worked for Allende who perished that day. It was difficult to imagine that this entire sector was closed off for two decades.)
(Above: Another room, with a circular case depicting Chile's leaders since its independence. The medal to the right of each president's face is the building they inhabited... For only the half of Chile's history have president's inhabited La Moneda.)
(Above: I found this quite odd and indicative of the existing controversy and strong feelings about Pinochet... After Allende is not displayed a medal of Pinochet, which is interesting, because even the dictator Bernardo O'Higgins back in the day has his face displayed although he was not really an elected president.)
(Above: I liked the archways and doors a lot. Here I am displaying that the doors are really high because they were constructed to allow horses and carriages through. This room is the 'Red Room' where President Michelle Bachelet makes her speeches to the nation. As much as people would imagine that it is an expansive room, it actually is a small space.)
(Above: This is me pictured next to a totem from the Mapuche culture made from wood in one of the square sectors, which is distinctive from the moai from the Rapa Nui culture made from volcanic rock.)
(Above: as we exit the palace through the same doors as the entrance, we saw a tall relatively thin stone sculpture in the huge stone plaza in front of the palace. I call it 'Chile's Washington Tower' in my mind but it is really just a huge flagpole for the huge flag)
(Above: on the side of the palace is a door that was locked during Pinochet's presidency. This is the location in which Allende's body was carried out. Nowadays, few people in the government have the keys to unlock it)
(Above: I suppose my Chilean mother and I witnessed history when, all of a sudden, my Chilean mother and I heard a crash. We turned around to see that one of the main gates had shattered. I suppose someone had thrown something at it? I am not sure.)
(Above: We took pictures with two carabineros at the entrance of the palace)
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