Morandé 80. Tras una puerta de servicio

Agustina Labarca

doi:10.5354/2810-6245.2022.69340

Abstract

At the beginning of the 20th century, a door at 80 Morandé Street was opened in the Chilean governmental Palace —Palacio de La Moneda— as a service access that led to the Chilean Presidency. The opening had to do both with La Moneda’s architectural existing conditions, and with the new requirements for the use of a colonial building as the seat of Government. Over time, the door was consolidated as the visible element of a circulation system that responded to and served as a platform for a particular political culture in Chile. In several ways, the bombing of La Moneda radically altered this trajectory. Firstly, it was the landmark event of the beginning of the dictatorship, which, as such, interrupted that culture. Secondly, the evacuation of La Moneda that morning —including a dead president— was carried out through 80 Morandé Street. Finally, when the same authorities of the Dictatorship rebuilt the Palace, the door was not included. The reopening of the door of 80 Morandé Street in 2003 revealed a string of symbolic associations that intertwined with a longer history, while the material trajectory of the door forces us to question what it is that is replaced when symbols are restored.

Morandé 80. Behind a service door

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