In finding the traces of Chile's silver route, directors of the Fundación Altiplano MSV explore the cultural heritage of the Andean churches of Arica and Parinacota.
Across the plains of northern Chile, 31 rural churches built in the mid-sixteenth century reflect the tradi- tions of art and faith of local residents in combina- tion with the European influences of those overseeing their construction. This landscape and its structures have re- mained remarkably unchanged due to their remote locations. Once the free port of Arica was built in the 1960s, steady emigration toward urban centers has diminished the local workforce available for caring for the churches. Founded in 2002, the Fundación Altiplano began restoring the churches
a year later, developing a plan for sustaining the 31 churches through community engagement and specialized training in the crafts necessary to maintain these evocative historic structures. To date, eight churches have been restored. The Churches of Arica Parinacota were included on the 2010 World Monuments Watch and since that time World Mon- uments Fund has contributed to the work of Fundación Altiplano. Visit WMF's website to learn more about Arica Parinacota.
Cristian Heinsen Planella, Executive Director of Fundación Altiplano MSV, explains how rural communities are declining and it is important to preserve and encourage rural populations.
Country, southwestern South America. Area: 291,930 sq mi (756,096 sq km). Population (2009 est.): 16,602,000. Capital: Santiago. About three-fourths of Chileans are mestizos; most of the rest are of European ancestry or Aracanian (Mapuche) Indians. The indigenous peoples before Spanish colonization included the Diaguita, Picunche, Mapuche, Huilliche, Pehunche, and Cunco Indians. Spanish colonists arrived during the 16th–17th centuries, followed by Basque settlers in the 18th century. A relatively homogeneous population of mestizos has developed. Language: Spanish (official). Religion: Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic; also Protestant, other Christians). Currency: Chilean peso. Chile is noteworthy for its unique topography: it is a long, narrow country lying between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. From north to south it is about 2,700 mi (4,300 km) long and nowhere more than 217 mi (349 km) wide. The north has an arid plateau, the Atacama Desert, and contains several peaks above 16,000 ft (4,900 m), but most of the highest peaks are on the borders with Bolivia and Argentina. The rivers, including the Bío-Bío, are limited in size. There are many lakes, including Lake Llanquihue. The extreme southern coast is marked by many inlets, islands, and archipelagoes; the western half of Tierra del Fuego (including the island on which Cape Horn is located) is in Chilean territory, as are small islets of Juan Fernández and Easter Island. The country is periodically beset by violent earthquakes and tsunamis that originate along major faults of the ocean floor. In 1960 Chile was struck by a magnitude-9.5 earthquake, the largest ever recorded. A magnitude-8.8 earthquake caused extensive damage in 2010. Chile has a partially developed free-market economy based mainly on mining and manufacturing. It is a multiparty republic with two legislative houses; its head of state and government is the president. Originally inhabited by native peoples, including the Mapuche, the area was invaded by the Spanish in 1536. A settlement begun at Santiago in 1541 was governed under the Viceroyalty of Peru but became a separate captaincy general in 1778. Its people revolted against Spanish rule in 1810; independence was finally assured by the victory of Argentine and Chilean forces under José de San Martin at the Battle of Chacabuco in 1817. The area was governed by Chilean Gen. Bernardo O'Higgins until 1823. In the War of the Pacific (1879–83) against Peru and Bolivia, Chile won the rich nitrate fields on the coast of Bolivia, effectively severing that country's access to the coast. Chile remained neutral in World War I (1914–18) and for most of World War II (1939–45), though in 1942 it joined other Latin American countries in declaring war on the Axis. In 1970 Salvador Allende was elected president, becoming the first avowed Marxist to be elected head of state in Latin America. Following economic upheaval, he was overthrown in 1973 in a coup led by Augusto Pinochet, whose military regime harshly suppressed internal opposition. A national referendum in 1988 and elections the following year removed Pinochet from power and returned the country to democratic rule. Chile's economy maintained steady growth through most of the 1990s and in the early 21st century remained one of the strongest in Latin America.
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