Art and history in Valpo: Part 1

Valparaiso is a historic port city 1 1/2 hours from Santiago. We arrived in the late afternoon and chose to take a taxi to the hostel since the city is known for its cerros (hills) and confusing labyrinth of streets. After a few pricey nights in wine country, we were going cheap in a 7 bed room for $13 a night. I don't particularly enjoy the loss of privacy, but the upside is that you can always meet new folks. Since it was Easter weekend (and we presumed things would be closed), we enjoyed a town known for pretty views and diverse street art. Still tired from the bus ride and getting settled, we only walked around Cerro Concepcion that first evening.

Sunset and full moon over Valpo.  The mural in the bottom center is one of the most famous.  The artist is INTI and it spans three buildings.  It includes two of his popular trademarks: an open-mouthed clown-life face and three bullets on a necklace.  He always includes symbols of Latin American culture too. 

A bit of some GI issues kept us from getting a late start on the first day but we eventually made it to the afternoon walking tour. From our gracious local guide, we learned a lot about Valpo's colorful past. It was hugely popular in the mid to late 1800s as the big port city on the way to the gold rush in California. This brought many European immigrants and wealth to the city.  And many firsts to all of South America (first post office, newspaper, firestation, etc.).

Original fire stations were each from a different country, including this German one that still functions (e.g. Feuerwehr). All firefighters in Valpo are volunteer (and very proud of that status).  With as many fires as they are prone to, it is very important work!  

Fishing in the harbor with just a line!  Try that pops! 

The main plaza.  The hideous blue modern top to a historic building is hated by locals but allowed because the port offices threatened to move all port activity to San Antonio so they got what they wanted!

The old port neighborhood is full of beautiful and ornate buildings...that are now falling apart. The golden age started to end following a massive terremoto (earthquake) in 1906 that killed 4,000 people and injured 20,000 (and I can't imagine there were more than 100,000-150,000 people living there at the time) and basically officially ended when the Panama Canal opened in 1914.  

The theater before 1906

The theater after the earthquake.  Crazy!

 Valpo almost fell off the map in the mid 1900's but soon artists and writers moved in and the city is now known for its artistic contributions to Chilean history. The port still functions but it's not even the biggest in Chile (San Antonio about an hour south carries that distinction). Parts of the town were designated UNESCO World Heritage status in 2003 so tourism is now one of the big draws. The colorful houses actually have a functional purpose too. Many of the original homes were built with adobe but it didn't handle the weather well so homeowners used leftover ship metal (ballast) to cover and protect their walls. But those were prone to rust so they painted the metal with weather resistant boat paint.  Thus, the colorful Valpo was born.

Painted metal, street art, crazy electrical wires and graffiti.  Sums up just about every block in Valpo.

Also, the streets up and down the hills are very confusing so people were able to tell others where to go based on different house colors which soon also included big murals. Graffiti is actually illegal (though everywhere) but street art is allowed if the home owner invites the artist to paint. I really only enjoyed the beautiful murals as the graffiti is actually quite hideous. Anyhow, the tour was great.

A working pay phone!  Found it while waiting to ride the funicular. 

One of the dozen or so still running funiculars that whisk people up the steep hills at the base of town.

Our guide and the two street dogs who followed us all day.  They are named David Bowie (for her crazy looking eyes) and Boyfriend of David Bowie (because they are always together).

Music and art on one of the many staircases around town.

We finished the tour in this amazing old port building.  With the marble staircases, intricate door work and beautiful ceilings that used to house stained glass, you can imagine how beautiful this building was back in the late 1800's!

Riding another funicular that has been running since 1887!

One of my favorite murals, right by our hostel.

Since our tummies were mostly healed, we did try a local favorite: chorrillo. This is really nothing more than french fries, meat, fried onions and a fried egg. I think I'm over all this fried and meaty food!  We didn't get a photo but you can imagine what it looked like I'm sure.  

Valpo Street Art: Part 2

The second full day we ventured to the dock for an informational boat ride around the bay. It offered great views of the colorful city and hills.  In the bay were shipping boats bound for China, Hamburg and probably many other places around the world as well as old military boats. 

 We went across town to find art from the 2012 street art festival. At first we weren't sure if we arrived in the right area but the fabulous murals left no doubts in our minds. Unfortunately, the only still running elevator was closed for maintenance. It's crazy some of these have been working for over 100 years!

We saw a guy leave this house.  I can hear him giving directions now "Just look for the blue building with two giant weird alien creatures on it."

The only elevator (the rest are ascensors/funiculars) with its view over the hills. 

The stairs up and down these hills also have many other purposes besides just getting people up and down the hill.  They are also homes for the many street dogs, trash cans (yes, lots of trash in places) and bathrooms (the stench of urine was pretty prominent at times which is unfortunate).  More art:

One of my favorites!  Love the muscles, the 'eye' and the hot air balloon.

 

This was when we decided to become part of the art.  We may have around 30 different photos of this attempt.

Shows the graffiti, the old colorful buildings and the buildings of Cerro Concepcion above.

The view from our hostel room at dusk!

Our last day was Pascual (Easter) and while we didn't see any of the burning Judas parades that apparently were occurring on each cerro, we ventured around town to see more art.  It was quite cloudy and foggy but made for better lighting for our street mural escapades.  We decided jumping in to the art was more fun than just looking at it.

 

This town actually reminds me of Guatemala in a way because of the absolutely haphazard way the buildings are constructed up and down the hills, with seemingly random colors splayed over dilapidated corrugated metal walls.

Since we've newly developed an interest in Chilean cemeteries, we visited the three in Valpo.  First, there is the Catholic one, then the Dissidents for other religions (the first of its kind in South America) and the Everyone Else (it didn't really have a name).  Unfortunately, the one that had all the gravestones from the immigrants was closed by the time we arrived and it would have been interesting to see the diverse headstones. From the gate, we saw headstones from Germans, Scots and Brits who died in the 1800s.

There were many different tombs for the various Bomberos (fire fighters) from each country.  The white plaque here listed about 15 volunteers who died on 1 Jan 1953. We later learned why.  Turns out a little boy started a fire by throwing a firecracker into a house. The firefighters rushed to the scene and almost contained it before it reached a building full of dynamite.  Yes, 10 tons of dynamite.  The explosion rocked the entire bay.  Fifty some people died, mainly first-responders , and the ensuing catastrophe took years to rebuild.  Very sad and crazy piece of Valpo history!

The oldest headstone I found...Maria Del Carmen Rodriguez was born in 1799.

 

Even the plaza steps were artistic.

The open air museum was a bunch of murals from university students in the 1990's. 

Another university student mural below the tall metal buildings.  Taken from below as we walk down the steps of the hill.

After some horrible dining experiences, we splurged on meals our last day.  While returning to our hostel in the late afternoon, we randomly ran into our French friend Remi who we have now ran into 4 times.  First was at our refugio breakfast on my birthday in Torres del Paine, then again in San Martin, Pucon and now Valpo.  He is riding a motorcycle for 4 1/2 months (started in Buenos Aires in February) and will finish with his wife in Peru next month.  While we've met a few other travelers again along the bus trail, it's even more random since he is on a motorbike.  So we invited him to dinner and enjoyed a nice conversation alongside the gorgeous views of the twinkling lights of Valpo.

Thanks for a fun dinner Remi!

The next day, we awoke early to catch our bus to Mendoza.  It was quite scenic, going up and through the Andes mountains, past a few very basic ski slopes, and whizzing through customs, even though we slept through most of it as usual.

Don't think I'll be returning in the winter to ski these hills!

Adios Chile, bienvenidos Argentina (otra vez)!