Thursday, February 7, 2013

The President's Place

by Andrew Dorris

Yesterday we were lucky enough to get to take a tour of La Moneda, the Chilean equivalent to the White House and where President Piñera works, but does not live. This building is very low, showing the position of government in relation to the people. La Moneda is full of stories, with the most renowned being the bombing in during the coup of 1973 that killed Salvador Allende. Different parts of the building had different attributes from eras of history. This included things from the Mapuches (indigenous people), past presidents, and religious figures.
Each room had its own history, from chandeliers to windows to paintings. One thing that stuck out was the medals inside of the medal case. Every former president has a medal inside of this case except Pinochet. That may reveal something more about his reign as a dictator. My personal favorite piece of history was in the chapel. They had a seat encased in glass which is where Pope John Paul ll sat when he came to visit. Also in the chapel were different figures of virgins, one of which is Ecuadorian and the only one in the world like it. All of this insightful information came from our awesome tour guide, Andres.

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