A Chilean poet, diplomat and socialist, Pablo Neruda is certainly one of the most colorful personalities the country has produced in the last century. I was first exposed to his writing in a Latin American Poetry class that I took during my first trip to Chile in 2003. I was especially intrigued by his collection of love sonnets, Cien Sonetos de Amor. Each sonnet is short and playful, yet somehow produces a depth of meaning that is difficult to accomplish in standard prose. It was the first time that I found myself enjoying poetry, and I have been fascinated by Neruda ever since.
I believe one of the best windows into someone's personality is to view the inside of their home, and Neruda does not disappoint in this regard. A foundation has been established in his name, and his three homes are now available for viewing by the general public. As one would expect from a poet, each home has a name: La Chascona (in Santiago), La Sebastiana (in Valparaíso), and Isla Negra (in Isla Negra). During my 2004 visit, I was fortunate to visit all three. On this trip, we made it to both La Chascoa and La Sebastiana.
La Sebastiana sits high atop one of the hills of Valparaíso. Our guidebook had provided instructions for catching a colectivo (see my previous post about this transportation option), so we decided to give it a go. We identified the appropriate collectivo without much trouble (being a well-tread tourist landmark, there were plenty of other folks doing the same thing), and were quickly transported up the winding streets in what can only be described as the most insane taxi ride I've ever been on. I have never gotten up a hill quicker. The taxi driver had to have been going close to 50 mph through narrow alley ways, giving a honk here and there when he thought it was necessary.
We arrived safely at the gate to La Sebastiana where we purchased our entry tickets and began the self-guided tour. Via our audio guide, we learned that the house was built in the late 1940s by an architect named Sebastian (hence the name), who died before the unique house was fully completed. It sat unoccupied until Neruda purchased it in the early 1960's. The house has four floors with uniquely shaped rooms with lots of windows and knick-knacks that Neruda had carefully collected. One collection that I found particularly interesting was his colored glassware; Neruda believed it improved the taste of a drink. I have found myself searching for red and green wine glasses ever since - you know, just to check out the hypothesis ;). Photos weren't permitted inside the house, so unfortunately I only have a few shots of the outside.
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| La Sebastiana |
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| View from the main floor of La Sebastiana |
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