Chile The Arts

ARCHITECTURE
Due to Chile’s frequent earthquakes, many architectural monuments from the colonial period are no longer standing. In Valparaíso, Chile’s oldest city, for example, no colonial buildings remain as the result of a 1730 earthquake that leveled all of the city’s colonial structures. The city, however, was rebuilt immediately and has continued to develop architecturally, with a mix of imposing professional buildings and older residential structures in the north of the city. Southern cities, including Valdivia and Osorno, reflect the impact of their German heritage in the few buildings that have survived earthquakes.

In Santiago, the architecture is a merging of remains from ancient monuments, colonial buildings, and modern skyscrapers. The perfectly calibrated city blocks of old Santiago are centered on the Plaza de Armas, which is flanked with several significant historical buildings in the colonial style. In the early 20th century, the plaza was embellished with several new buildings in the Art Nouveau style, including the Cousiño Palace, the Church of the Sacramentinos, the Palace of Fine Arts, and the Tribunal. The city expands out from the original center to include additional buildings and homes in the neo-Gothic, modern, and California styles.

• Fine Arts

FINE ARTSColonial art from the 17th and 18th centuries in Chile is composed almost entirely of religious images. Early colonial sculptures, paintings, and murals depict dramatic images of Christ, the Virgin ...more

• Literature

Latin America’s first epic poem, La Araucana, was penned by the Chilean soldier-poet Don Alonso de Ercilla in the late 16th century. This poem, which illuminated the beauty of the Chilean countryside ...more

• Music

Chile’s folkloric music is rich and diverse, influenced by Spanish, Argentine, Peruvian, and Mexican traditions. Music for the cueca, the national dance of Chile, is one of the country’s classic ...more

• Dance

The national dance of Chile, la cueca, is widely considered the best expression of the Chilean spirit, despite the fact that there is some controversy as to whether the dance originated in Chile or in ...more

• Film and Television

Pinochet’s military regime was not kind to the Chilean film industry, but the current dearth of a national cinema has not always been the case in Chile. Cinema originated in Chile before World War ...more