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Cementerio General de Santiago
The Cementerio General de Santiago, Chile was established in 1820 after Chile's independence when Bernardo O'Higgins inaugurated the Alameda de las Delicias along the old course of the Mapocho River. O'Higgins set aside more than 85 hectares of land for the foundation of what became a magnificent grounds filled with ornate mausoleums surrounded by palm and leaf trees set amidst lush gardens and numerous sculptures.
This cemetery is the final resting place for all but two of the deceased Presidents of Chile, the exceptions being Gabriel Gonzalez Videla and Augusto Pinochet. One of the most visited memorials is that of former President Salvador Allende who had been ignominiously buried in the Santa Ines cemetery at Vina del Mar following his assassination in the 1973 coup d'etat. With the democratic changes that began in the 1990s, Allende was exhumed and his remains were transported in a solemn procession through the streets of Santiago to a place of honor in the Cementerio General de Santiago. The cemetery also has a memorial to the people that were 'disappeared' during the regime of Augusto Pinochet that ousted President Allende.
Some of the notables interred here include:
Salvador Allende (1908-1973), President of Chile
Arturo Alessandri (1868-1950), President of Chile
Jaime Guzman (1946-1991), Senator.
Victor Jara (1932-1973), poet, folk singer
Orlando Letelier (1932-1976), statesman
Eduardo Frei Montalva (1911-1982), President of Chile
Violeta Parra (1917-1967), folk singer
Miguel Enriquez Espinosa (1944-1974), General Secretary of the Revolutionary Left Movement
Eduardo Alquinta (1945-2003), Musician, leader of the chilean band Los Jaivas.
See also
List of famous cemeteries
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Cementerio General de Santiago
