Culture
Letter from Alfredo Barría, Cultural Director
The foundation's cultural department is organized as an incubator
for various projects, oriented beneath the concept of Valparaiso
as one of the world's unique cultural backdrops. Conceptually, we
value the cosmopolitan aspects of Valparaiso's history and her preeminent
role as an opening that bridges cultures together. The constant
ebb and flow of foreigners through the city have doted Valparaiso
with a particular sense of identity that we cherish and embrace
as a way in which the city sees itself and its place in the world.
As a general rule, our projects seek to establish networks with
artists both within and beyond national boundaries. Disciplines
and medium may vary, but a common element is that we recognize ourselves
as inhabitants of a unique and singular place. Such a backdrop dates
back to the 19th century, when the Valparaiso identity was forged
on the backs of stories told by ship captains and crews who had
survived the treacherous route around Cape Horn.
The mythical identity of Valparaiso as a multinational melting pot
in the hinterlands of the south Pacific is known world wide, from
France to Germany to San Francisco and beyond. Strangely, such myth
is often curiously misunderstood within Chile itself.
With the passing of time, Valparaiso developed its own iconography,
artistic, and commercial style. Hence, the navigational map that
guides the foundation's cultural agenda is rooted in a rich past,
pregnant with testimonies to a pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit.
At the cusp of a new century, cultural management becomes a sign
of new intent towards an old purpose: improving the like of the
human condition. Our style has been to develop a path as unique
as the city itself, entering the global marketplace without resigning
our individual splendor.
Our defining projects: the Valparaiso Film Festival, The Jazz Festival,
the Filmoteque Valparaiso, and the National Painting Contest, "Intervening
Valparaiso" constitute models of quotidian evolution towards
something grand and different. In our case, the legacy of a rich
past, far from becoming a burden evoking suffocating nostalgia,
is transformed into a standard of excellence and innovation that
draws us toward historic continuity.
Such is our poetic conception of existence, where the imagination
is obliged to be tangible, palpable, concrete. We invite you to
become a part of our journey.
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