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The Woman with Unruly Hair...
A painting by Diego Rivera graces one of the walls, in one of the many rooms, of "La Chascona", Pablo Neruda's Santiago home. Rivera summed up Neruda's relationshop with Matilde Urrutia perfectly with this portrait of her. In it, she is a woman of two faces, one looking at the viewer, and one to the left, in profile. You must look carefully for the well concealed profile of Neruda, residing in her thick mane of red hair. The place is filled with art and artifacts. Here are three statues from Easter Island. They are eyeless, after Neruda pried their eyes out when islanders advised him that if he removed them from their island, whoever their gaze fell upon would be cursed. As an added safety measure, the wall opposite their sightless stare contains a stone to ward off evil, placed there by Neruda. He was a self proclaimed atheist, but possibly he wanted some insurance. I took a Saturday tour in English which began at 11:00AM. My guide, a young man named Francisco Mondaca, filled me in on the pertinent details. Here is Neruda's Nobel prize, along with awards from other countries. Bars abound, as Pablo was fond of wine and conversation with friends. Mondaca explained, "We Chileans like to drink wine very much, but Neruda was also a poet, so he had to drink even more!" Neruda served his friends only in colored glasses, as he said that color improved the taste of the drink. If you were not a friend and got a drink, it would be served in a clear glass! The ship like construction of the various rooms adds to the flavor of the "Captain's" story. Neruda had a fascination for the sea, yet he was unable to swim. During his life, a creek and waterfall ran alongside the house. Alas, the sound of running water is no more. During the coup of 1973, the military vandalized much of the house, and diverted the stream to flood the house. The creek now runs through a buried culvert. If your soul is that of a romantic, you must visit this home when in Santiago. As for me, when I return home, I'm going to buy some colored glassware!
