La Chascona (4/23)

Pablo Neruda is a famous Chilean writer, winning the Nobel Prize in 1971. He was a politican and well know for many reasons. Needless to say he had money -- a lot of it! He had three houses. Deb and I have seen two, La Isla Negra (see Isla Negra and Algarrobo March 12) and, now, La Chascona. We went after church because Neruda attempted to hide his house in an unusual part of the downtown. This house originally was for a mistress he had when his second marriage was falling apart. This unusual house was designed to hide out with Matilde Urrutia, who later became his third wife.

Notable for it's small rooms, unusual furnishings and trick doors, Neruda entertained guest here. One gets the impression that he was a big kid. He like to surprise his guest with his tricks, like popping out of trick doors. And, he had a special level of his home for writing. His home had a good view of the city, but was difficult for him to traverse as he got older. For that reason, he built a third house in Viña that Deb and haven't yet seen. In failing health, Neruda died in 1973 shortly after hearing that Pinochet stormed the Moneda (Chile's White House) and President Allende was dead. Later, the military raided Neruda's house destroying the majority of his belonging there... Thus was the beginning of a new era in Chile's history.