- published: 18 Apr 2014
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Santiago (Spanish: Santiago de Chile (help·info)), also Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation (Greater Santiago). It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of 520 m (1,706.04 ft) above mean sea level. Although Santiago is the capital, the National Congress of Chile meets in the coastal town of Valparaíso, 120 km to the west.
Chile's steady economic growth has transformed Santiago into Latin America's most modern metropolitan area, with extensive suburban development, dozens of shopping centers, and impressive high-rise architecture. It has a very modern transport infrastructure, including the steadily growing underground Santiago Metro, an effort at modernizing public bus transport and a free flow toll-based ring road and inner city highway system, part of which is tunneled underneath a large section of the city's main river Mapocho connecting the Eastern and Western end of the city in a 25-minute drive. Santiago is the regional headquarters to many multinationals and a financial center.
Chile (i/ˈtʃɪliː/ or /ˈtʃɪleɪ/), officially the Republic of Chile (Spanish: República de Chile [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈtʃile] ( listen)), is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south. Along with Ecuador, it is one of two countries in South America that do not border Brazil. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas and Easter Island. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica, although all claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.
Chile's distinctive shape—4,300 kilometres (2,700 mi) long and on average 175 kilometres (109 mi) wide—makes it the longest country in the world, north to south, with the fifth lengthiest coastline at over 78 thousand kilometers. The diverse climate of Chile ranges from the world's driest desert in the north—the Atacama—through a Mediterranean climate in the centre, humid subtropical in Easter Island, to an Oceanic climate, including alpine tundra and glaciers in the east and south. The northern desert contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. The relatively small central area dominates in terms of population and agricultural resources, and is the cultural and political center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century when it incorporated its northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands.
Allí amé a una mujer terrilblellorando por el humo siempreternode aquella
Ciudad acorraladapor símbolos de invierno.
Allí aprendí a quitar con piel el frío
Y echar luego mi cuerpo a la llovizna,
En manos de la niebla dura y blanca,
En calles del enigma.
Eso no está muerto,
No me lo mataron
Ni con la distancia
Ni con el vil soldado.
Allí entre los cerros, tuve amigos
Que entre bombas de humo eran hermanos.
Allí yo tuve más de cuatro cosas
Que siempre he deseado.
Allí nuestra canción se hizo pequeña
Entre la multitud desesperada:
Un poderoso canto de la tierra
Era quien más cantaba.
Eso no está muerto,
No me lo mataron
Ni con la distancia
Ni con el vil soldado.
Hasta allí me seguió, como una sombra,
El rosto del que ya no se veia,
Y en el oído me susurró la muerte
Que ya aparecería.
Allí yo tuve un odio, una vergüenza:
Niños mendigos de la madrugada,
Y el deseo de cambiar cada cuerda
Por un saco de balas.
Eso no está muerto,
No me lo mataron
Ni con la distancia