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Chile Travel Report Animitas or The church, the state, and Coca Cola |
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In North America you occasionally see along a highway a
white cross that marks where someone was killed in an auto accident.
There may be a few flowers or minor mementos, but it is usually not much
In Chile, though, these memorials, or Animitas, are quite a prominent feature In my driving trip north from Vicuņa to Copiapo along Route 5, I photographed more than 30 of these--and had to bypass many more than that. Sometimes there would be one every kilometer or so |
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They range from simple affairs |
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To quite elaborate, substantial productions Like this one, which occupies a whole promontory |
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Or this one, with elegant, elaborate tile work and architectural integrity |
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Some are forlorn and look forsaken |
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Others bear evidence of loving care and attention |
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They may be bland |
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Or colorful |
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But three components are present in many of them A cross |
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A Chilean flag |
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And a Coke bottle |
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Some have all three |
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The messages displayed vary from
"Your memory will always live in our hearts" |
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To imagined dialog "Your prayers will be listened to. Seņor God prays for us" "I am God Your lifelong friend" |
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To wry commentary
"Here lie two loving idiots..." |
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"Smile, Christ loves you" |
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Some are straightforward and easy to pass by |
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Others invite commentary |
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The message may be scrawled casually on almost any medium |
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Others are handsomely engraved |
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Or scribed in concrete |
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or with stone chips laid on the ground |
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| Browse more in the "Animitas" gallery |