JERARQUÍAS DE PRESENCIAS. TORRES PARA ACTOS INDIVIDUALES Agrupación de los 12 hitos que aluden a los 12 personajes representativos de nuestra sociedad. HIERARCHIES OF PRESENCES. TOWERS FOR INDIVIDUAL ACTS Grouping of the 12 landmarks that allude to the 12 representative characters of our society.
the symbolism that today could unite and make sense to Chileans. After the social uprising, many wishes of Plaza de la Dignidad have been viralized in social networks. 9 The thesis I presented twenty years ago proposed to advance on the idea of monuments of the present to project a possible future. Without exaggeration, it could be argued that this place is the most important in Chile and that today it constitutes a center of projection, of collectivity, and also of polarization. What is happening today with the place, regarding its high symbolic value, in a crucial moment of Chile's history, is what makes the speculation revived. The thesis proposed the gathering of 12 monuments that could perform when used, representing 12 typical Chileans, 12 ordinary citizens who are part of our society. 10 This is how the location´s architectures could be mixed with those of society´s symbolic values, by means of spatial performance that has been built combining space, symbol, and time. The recent violent disputes, which we have also witnessed, have to do with all of this. The rage of many is impregnated in the location´s architectures, architectures that have been bullet- proofed and that, at the same time, have served as a backdrop, as a real canvas to receive paint and stones, along with the messages of a collective street "art" of frustration and pain. Here we can also cite artistic contributions that add to the contingency concerns: I am referring to the work of, for example, DelightLab and Caiozzama. With all these value layers, we cannot help but add issues of material and immaterial heritage that Plaza Italia has built. Perhaps the monument will not return because for many it is no longer a sign of the times, it is no longer commemorative of
Torre para el desesperanzado Tower for the hopeless
Torre para contemplar el entorno Tower to contemplate the surroundings
Torre para construir el futuro
Torre para establecer vínculos Tower to establish links
Torre para matar el tiempo Tower to kill time
Tower to build the future
Torre para satisfacer el consumo Tower to satisfy consumption
Torre para satisfacer las necesidades Tower to satisfy the needs
Torre para informarse del acontecer Tower to be informed of current events
Torre para los reclamos al gobierno Tower to complain to the government
Torre para saciar el hambre y la sed Tower to satisfy hunger and thirst
Torre para el que no quiere estar ni solo ni lejos Tower for those who do not want to be alone nor far away
Torre para los que no tienen familia Tower for those who do not have a family
contingent meanings and neither is it representative of a certain cohesion for a broad group of Chileans. If it is not removed, the question is about what will have to be done to make various parts of the histories that nurture the place coexist. It seems that monuments today are valued much more for their proximity to people and in natural reference to their origins. We face a unique moment in Chilean history, a new constitution will be written, and Plaza Italia is now known as Plaza Dignidad, will also symbolically support a moment of silence, without the presence of a soldier. Plaza Italia´s urban environment is waiting, as is the desire of the new generation of Chileans. The constitution promises a new future to Chileans, to promote a new path, perhaps more inclusive and without so many differences. Undoubtedly, this place has become much more of a protagonist today, in times of uncertainty, in times when we must take care of our democracy more than ever, a time when celebrations and demonstrations are beginning to become part of the city´s life, in a society that is becoming more and more self-driven, more and more demanding, and more and more vocal and participates more through its public spaces. 11 / 9 In November 2019, in a post-social outburst context, I conducted at the DesignLab of the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, together with Professor Felipe Veliz, a workshop that explored certain proposals to re-articulate Plaza Italia under the theme of social demand and the concept of dignity. The results of the exercise were published in social networks and on the university's website in January 2020: https://noticias.uai.cl/pensar-la-plaza-italia/ 10 The thesis proposed a monument to highlight 12 average citizens, characters that would be the representatives of our society at the time: 1- the social phobic, 2- the opposing politician, 3- the idle, 4- the vagabond, 5- an NN inhabitant of the city, 6- another NN inhabitant of the city, 7- the romantic, 8- the one who lives for capital, 9- the preacher, 10- the one who is always informed, 11- the one who needs to regain strength, 12- the suicidal one. Each of these characters was associated with a program (a tower in the case of the project for the year 2000 and a sphere in the case of the project for the year 3000). See: "Arquitectura como performance: estaciones del errante o los lugares del (des) encuentro, experiencias efímeras en el espacio público" PUC, 1999, Santiago, pp. 202-237.
colectividad, y también de polarización. Lo que hoy sucede con el lugar, a propósito de su alto valor simbólico, en un momento coyuntural de la historia de Chile, es lo que hace re-vivir la especulación realizada. En la tesis se proponía el encuentro de 12 monumentos que, podían hacer performance cuando eran utilizados, representando a 12 chilenos tipo, 12 ciudadanos comunes y corrientes que son parte de nuestra sociedad. 10 Así es como las arquitecturas del lugar se podrían mezclar con las de los valores simbólicos de una sociedad, por medio de un performance espacial que se ha construido conjugando espacio, símbolo y tiempo. Las disputas violentas recientes, de las cuales también hemos sido testigos, tienen que ver con todo esto. La rabia de muchos se ve impregnada de manifiesto en las arquitecturas del lugar, arquitecturas que han sido blindadas y que, a la vez, han servido como telón de fondo, como un verdadero lienzo para recibir pintura y piedrazos, junto con los mensajes de un “arte” colectivo callejero, de frustración y dolor. Acá podemos, además, citar aportes artísticos que se suman a las preocupaciones de la contingencia: me refiero al trabajo de por ejemplo, DelightLab y Caiozzama. Con todas estas capas de valor no podemos dejar de sumar temas de patrimonio material e inmaterial que la Plaza Italia ha construido. Quizás el monumento ya no regrese porque para muchos ya no va con los tiempos que corren, ya no es conmemorativo de significados contingentes y tampoco representativo de cierta cohesión 10 La tesis propuso un monumento para realzar a 12 ciudadanos promedio, personajes que serían los representantes de nuestra sociedad entonces: 1- el fóbico social, 2- el político opositor, 3- el ocioso, 4- el vagabundo, 5- un habitante NN de la ciudad, 6- otro habitante NN de la ciudad, 7- el romántico, 8- el que vive por el capital, 9- el predicador, 10- el que siempre está informado, 11- el que necesita recobrar fuerzas, 12- el suicida. Cada uno de estos personajes tenía asociado un programa (una torre en el caso del proyecto para año 2000 y una esfera en el caso del proyecto para el año 3000). Ver: “ Arquitectura como performance: estaciones del errante o los lugares del (des)encuentro, experiencias efímeras en el espacio público” PUC, 1999, Santiago, págs. 202-237.
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