Santiago City (some things to do in)

Santiago of Chile is a stressing city, but not if you know how to treat it (and if you have enough time). Any foreigner who come to Santiago must know some things, obviously; but I don't like official holiday's packs nor guided tours: the best way to know a city is, I think, touring with a friend or some friendly people who knows it well.





So I think that the places and things a foreigner must visit and do in Santiago aren't necessarily those that appear in touristic guides. I'll write some points about some interesting places and activities in the city, just according to myself.


A nice green area in the center. Cerro Santa Lucía (Saint Lucy Hill) is one of the main places in the City. An historical one. There are trees, grass, fountains, and sculptures. You be careful: sometimes there are thieves.

Rest in peace. I like cementeries. What can I do? Well, you must know the main one in the city (Cementerio General), or you'll never know Santiago. It's very old and large, like a little city. You must know the historical part, with its wonderful graves and mausoleum.

Churchs. I'm atheist, but I like old churchs more than museums. It's culture in context. So you gotta visit the city's Cathedral (at Plaza de Armas), the San Francisco church (the oldest one in the city), the San Agustín Temple, the basilicas of La Merced, Los Sacramentinos and El Salvador, among others.


Where to eat/drink/lunch/ have a dinner. I don't know what kind of meal do you like, so I just can talk about my own taste. I don't like luxury restaurants. So if you want to know the local food and drinks you can go to some typical restaurant or tavern, such as El Hoyo, Monte Rosa or La Tinaja, where you can ask for a "terremoto" (earthquake, a drink made of cheap wine, pineapple ice cream and some liqueur) or a pork sandwich. If you like loin sandwiches, you go to Fuente Alemana in Alameda, it's amazing. For chinese food, Los Chinos Pobres in Plaza Brasil.

Some Fun. I don't know. If you like chic gigs I'm afraid I can't help you. But anyway, I like Bellavista, a kind of bohemian district with a lot of pubs, bars and restaurant. You can also go to Lastarria.

No Future

What would I like to be doing five years from now? Ok, ok, but... Five years from now! Isn't that too much time? In fact, it's enough time to become another guy, or maybe to be dead.
I think -actually- that I will be studying yet. Or maybe beginning a brilliant career as an art historian (just kidding). Well, after all, I think it wouldn't be bad to be a kind of humanist, or a researcher or something like that. Personally, I hope I'm having a good time without working so hard.

I was (also) asked to write about my ideal future. How can I imagine an ideal future, if in a few years from now we'll be in a wicker world? Ok, I hope it isn't becoming that bad, of course, but I can't imagine a beautiful and happy future. But, anyway, I'll try to write something. Of course, thinking it's not about reality.

. . .

My ideal future

In five years from now I'd like to be living in an old house, by my own, with enough money but without a job, so I'd have a lot of free time. The money must come for the rents of a couple of properties. So I'd be able to drink some fine liquors, and beer, and wine, of course. I'd meet some friends and we'd make some little gigs together, with good music and some drink. I'd paint in oils sometimes, and I'd read and listen to music as much as I can.
Isn't that an ideal future?

Favorite subject...

I've been asked to describe my current favourite subject in my 'career'. I don't know why, but it sounds a kind of deja vu for me. I think I wrote something about it before.




Anyway, I can say that my fav subject now is called "Vanguardia, escritura y ciudad" (I'm not sure that's the right order, but it would be something like "Avant-garde, writing and metropolis"). It is basically Theory of avant-garde art movements through the XXth century, and their relationship with several disciplines of thought and textual production, the progressive placement of the artistic activity into the big cities (as considered after the theory developed by Charles Baudelaire, the metropolis as the definitive wagnerian "total artwork" -Gesamtkunstwerk, in German).
Maybe the main matter in this subject is the complex relationship between Aesthetics (Arts), Technique, Politics and Society. The teacher is professor Carlos Ossa.

I like it because of the conceptual strenght that must be -necessarily- employed on it, in a complex discourse that must involve several subjects such as Sociology, Capitalism, advertising analysis, Theory of merchandising, Theory of images, etcetera.

And well, I learnt a lot this semester: some things about Impressionism, Expressionism, Surrealism, avant-garde in general, Cinema and of course, some interesting points related to Politics.

Let me please introduce myself

Hi everybody. I'm Ignacio and I was born in 1987 in Santiago, Chile. I study Theory of Art (like the great Art Blakey's disc) at Universidad de Chile. I like arts very much, specially painting: but, anyway, music is that I like best. I really love music and I have an extensive musical taste. I like to read too: novels, poetry, tales, essays, History, Philosophy, etc. And maybe there's no many things more to tell about myself, but I hope I'll write some interesting things here. I hope I'll improve my poor English, too.

Greetings.
-Ignacio C.