Museos de Media Noche

Museos de MediaNoche is a night when museums, cultural centers and galleries open their doors until midnight so the public can visit their expositions. Various artists, dancers, and singers come throughout the evening to give performances or talk about their work, and there are free tours of the museums. It is a great idea, and I was excited to spend my Friday evening walking to and from the various participating locations. 

Today was also a memorable day, because just before seven am, three of the four metro lines closed due to electrical problems, affecting the 300,000 or so daily commuters that use the metro system during morning rush hour. In a city of seven million, the metro situation resulted in absolute chaos. Desperate to get to their jobs, masses of people flooded their best alternative, the bus stops. Unfortunately, the buses are already very full under normal circumstances, so adding this huge influx made life very unpleasant for everyone. The paradas were so full that people spilled out into the streets to wait, making the already heavy traffic day all the more impossible for those driving their own vehicles. 

I was quite fortunate enough to have scheduled Friday as a research day, so I was able to walk to a coffee shop and spend the day working without ever having to enter the craziness of the transit disaster. One metro line still remained out of commission by the end of the work day- the one connecting passengers to Santiago Centro, where the museums are located. As you can imagine, Museos de MediaNoche had a much lighter attendance than anticipated. I am fortunate enough to live within walking distance of many of the locations, so I had no problem arriving.

Enjoying the dance performance.

Clothing Christmas Tree! Wasn't quite what the artist was going for,
but that was my take on the mound.

personas desaparecidas