On the weekend of Oct 13th, I was able to go to a city on the coast of Chile with other students who were doing a study-abroad. The city we got to visit was called Valparaiso. Valparaiso, or Valpo as its most commonly known, is one of Chile's more important cities. Valpo also serves as one of Chile's biggest ports. Beside these economic advantages and values that Valpo has, it also has a rich culture and history.
Valparaiso wasn't built like other cities in Chile. For example, Santiago was built around its main plaza, Plaza Armas; through time the city grew around this plaza like a checker board. Valpo on the other hand was not able to grow like this due to its geographic location. The coast line and the mountains surroundings the city limited its ability to be built like Santiago. Instead, it was built in more of a linear shape. Due to this structure Valpo has several major Plazas running through its streets. My first impression when I arrived in Valparaiso is that it is very densely packed. The picture above is one picture of the upper part of Valpo. I also noticed that Valparaiso is covered in graffiti. Not just tags though, it is covered in murals, abstract art, and much more. This is what I loved about Valparaiso. The city has an artist culture surrounding it. There's always music playing in the streets, literature being read in plazas, painters capturing a beautiful landscape. One can also see this culture at the local markets/ferias. Here a lot of people attempt to sell there works of art, some are sculptures others paintings. This city was by far one of my favorite places to go to and I hope I'll be going back soon.
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