Valparaiso, Chile, Ghetto to Gem
by Paul H. Green
30 degrees, 01' South, 71 degrees, 38'West
Valparaiso has been a city at the end of the world since 1536. When Juan de Saavendra named it “Valley of Paradise”, or Valparaiso.
From 1536 to the opening of the Panama cannel Valparaiso has been the place to stop for every ship that traveled from the east coast of the Americas to the west coast. During most of the cities early life, it was just a point of stop over and re-supply. The port area has almost no flat ground, with all the homes and business perched on the hill side surrounding this large natural port.
English, German and French immigrants settled at the port and started to run their port trade, they also brought with them foreign capital to finance development of cooper and silver mining, and later of nitrate mining.
There are two distinct sections of the city. The modern coastal stretch that skirts the bay is fairly orderly and serves as the commercial center. But the other Valparaiso is much larger than the waterfront. It is older and almost entirely residential. It is actually a series of neighborhoods that cling delicately to the ceros, or hills, that rise abruptly just a few hundred yards from the shore.
Each hill in the central port is like an individual city laced with beguilingly twisted streets. We think Valparaiso is best seen from a ship entering the harbor, as the gleaming city and high rise apartments which follow the shore into the port are very nicely planned and are prosperous. It is not until a traveler arrives in the port, that you really understand the age of the city, and that it has a very large, poor population. The hillsides as seen from a ship in port are much like seeing the ghettos outside Mexico City.
There are 16 operating funicular railways scaling the steep hills to the various cliff districts. Some are so inclined that they are more like elevators than train cars or as Chileans call them Ascensores. While today they are a bit scary to ride, some more than 111 years old, they offer the brave of heart, a splendid view of the recumbent city below.
Now Valparaiso is the seat of Congress which is housed in a purpose-built building. This building can not be missed among the old low buildings around it, and it has a huge square hole in the middle. The story is that it is intended to represent the open pit copper mines, which finance more than 65% of Chile's national income. One Chilean said it represents the hole in the pockets of average Chileans to her.
As a whole, no pun intended, Chileans are much better off than many of their neighbors and they are a stable country with a stable democratic government, which understands that a shift from mining to wine, tourism and producing renewable wood products is the countries future. When we visited last in early 2007, the new female President was announcing an expected doubling of national income in 2007.
Travelers arriving in Valparaiso should understand both the cities past and the future, and then will be able to enjoy both at this city at the edge of the world.
Excursions in Valparaiso:
- The Paseo 21 de Mayo: Above the Aduana Square and overlooking the harbor. An excursion to the best look-out in town.
- Artilleria Fenicular Railway (Ascensor): Built in 1893. The upper terminal is at the Paseo 21 de mayo.