Neighbourhood Lastarria
This district arose, like many neighbourhoods in the commune of Santiago, from a church. In this case the church of Veracruz. Houses were built among winding streets where they build the Plaza Mulato Gil de Castro. This was built in the early nineteenth century. Despite the age of the neighbourhood, the place really just experienced its birth just a few decades ago, when the interest of preserving a number of facades rose, which started by preserving the historic home of Gil de Castro.
The neighbourhood Aubrey started to become more important between 1872 and 1910, with remodelling of the Cerro Santa Lucia, the creation of Parque Forestal and the construction of the Palacio Nacional de Bellas Arte. The district has established itself as such and attracted very important characters of our history, to live here. From Victoria Subercaseaux, cousin and wife of the former mayor of Santiago Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna, Pedro Aquirre Cerda, president of Chile between 1938 and 1941 and the liberal writer and thinker José Victorina Aubrey.
Moreover this place was home to know intellectuals and artists of our country, such as the architect and painter Nemesio Antunez, the painter Camilo Mori, novelist Luis Orrego Luco and many more.
In the 1990s, the neighbourhood began to renovate without altering its bohemian and intellectual life and at the end of the decade become home to a number of cafes, bars and cultural centers, which enhanced the sector’s activities. Since then, the historic and typical area has managed to reconcile its development with its characteristics.
For the great cultural offer of the sector, it is easy to find interconnected activities (festivals, tours, performances) through out the streets of the district. Especially in the street José Victorino Lastarria and the Parque Forestal. Another attraction with quality is the Cine Arte El Biógrafo.
How to get there: The Metro stations Universidad Católica and Bellas Artes are a good way of coming to the Neighbourhood Lastarria as well as its possible to get there with buses through Av. Alameda.
More information about the Neighbourhood Lastarria can be found in Wikipedia.