Day 9, Part 1: Santiago de Chile

The first time that I heard about the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos was when my friend Kyle wrote about it in her blog. I knew that if I ever went to Santiago I had to go see it. Maybe you've heard about the Coup d'etat in Chile during the 70's and Pinochet ruling the Country until 1990. This museum is about the abuses of the dictatorship and the lack of human rights during that time. When I was growing up in Colombia, I always heard about how horrible Pinochet was, but how good he was for Chile's economy. I was intrigued to learn more about it. I love history and I didn't know much about this period of time in Chile before visiting this museum. We learned a lot about Chile, Pinochet, and Allende. I bought a book that I have on my reading list. 

Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos

The entrance to the Museo de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos

Outside the museum there was an exhibition of posters from the 70s. I'm not sure if this is permanent, but even before starting the tour I wanted to cry. Compared to the holocaust, the 3,000 "disappearances" in Chile is almost "nothing". However I don't think anything will ever be compared to the holocaust. 

There was something extra that made me love this place even more. My favorite Colombian artist, Fernando Botero, had an exhibition at the time of our visit to the museum. The paintings were about the tortures in the Iraqi prison of Abu Ghraib. I didn't know that Botero created a collection of paintings about it. You don't get to hear much about Abu Ghraib in the US. To learn more about Botero's Abu Ghraib paintings click here. 

Fernando Botero's Abu Ghraib show in Chile

You can't take pictures inside the museum and there is so much that I want to show. I definitely recommend that if you are in Santiago, save a couple of hours in your itinerary to visit this museum. We spent at least 3 hours or more inside following the audio guide and watching the videos. It is free and there is a metro station (Quinta Normal) that is connected to the Museum. To read Kyle's post  and see her amazing pictures of the museum click here.