Thursday, September 24, 2009

Gringos in Santiago City


I think here in Santiago there’re many places and things to do…It only depends on the tourist style.
If I were a tourist host I would try to take him to original places that wouldn’t were in tourism leaflets (like La Moneda, El Mercado Central).
I think there’re some interesting places in the city of Santiago, which are not so specifics… they’re more like areas which are special because of their arquitecture, their lifestyle. Those places which have a special feel but you don’t know exactly why. One of those places is the Area of Barrio Brazil and barrio Yungay. Those are ones of the more ancient areas of Santiago City and I like them because of their old style “neighbourhood life”: there’re a lot of publics spaces, like squares (Plaza Yungay, Plaza Brazil), cultural houses, neighbourhood councils (junta de vecinos) who are very active cultural and politically. You can find too the typical old fashion popular housing which is the “conventillo”. But one special place is an old fashion French “hair dresser’s” which in the age of 60’ was very popular because it brought the avant-garde French hair-looking. Today the “hair-dressers” still serving the public, but the second floor is transformed to an excellent restaurant. So “La peluquerĂ­a Francesa” (the restoran) surely would be the place to eat whit the visitors.
Just in front, but in the other side of La Alameda there’s the street Republica, where ther’re are a lot ok popular cultural places, like the OKUPAS, the Museo de la Solidaridad