Valparaíso is a major port city, located 120km NW of the capital city, Santiago.
Colourful houses have become the hallmark of Valparaíso. Before the Panama Canal was open in 1914, Valparaíso served as a stopover for ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; ships would be repaired and repainted right at the dock. Locals would take the leftover paints to decorate and protect their homes against weathering from the harsh salt air. Indiscriminate to what colour was in the pot, the town soon became colourful giving this major city a charming feel.
However, if you look at many coastal cities around the world, you’ll notice that they too, are painted with an array of colors. It is believed that this would help sailors not only see the city from a distance, but navigate the shoreline by a specific color of the building (ex. docking 5 buildings down from the orange house with the green roof ).
The other hallmark feature of Valparaíso, is the vast street art. In the early-1940s, Pablo Neruda, a Chilean diplomat posted in Mexico City, witnessed the art movement spreading across Mexico. He decided to bring the movement home when he returned to Chile in 1943. In 1973, a coup d’etat was successfully carried out against the leftist president, Salvador Allende. Augusto Pinochet replaced him, a general that quickly rose through the ranks, and served as the president until 1990. He banned all forms of political art, but many saw it as the only way to express their beliefs. Valparaíso was the perfect place for this! With its narrow alleyways and concealed streets, artist could do their work, without being seen. An underground network of artists formed in the city, painting powerful messages on the walls. By doing so, they risked torture and death, and their murals were painted over when discovered by military police. But the groups persisted and proliferated, and played an important role in returning democracy to Chile in 1990.