Our tour was lead by a man who stayed at Villa Grimaldi for almost 13 months. He described torture methods and brutal living conditions to which he was subjected--it was extremely emotional for him, and ended up being a depressing experience for all of us who attended that day.
Almost all of the buildings at Villa Grimaldi were torn down by the Pinochet government, so a park was built there in honor of all the people that were subjected to staying there during the era:
These memorials are all over the park, commemorating buildings that stood where they are placed:
Our tour guide standing in front of a wall that commemorated people that "disappeared" or were killed from Villa Grimaldi:
A picture showing how people were tortured in the tower at Villa Grimaldi:
Exhibit to commemorate more people whose lives were lost:
After Villa Grimaldi, we went to the Grand Cemetery in Santiago. This cemetery holds over a million inhabitants in family and individual tombs, and is also the home to Salvador Allende's memorial tomb.
Salvador Allende's memorial tomb:
It was also interesting because the cemetery is distinctly separated by class--just as the Chilean society. At the front of the cemetery, there are intricate and expensive tombs that belong to the wealthiest families in Santiago, but as you start to walk towards the back of the cemetery the tombs get closer together and shabbier, and at the very end of the cemetery there are deteriorated graves with signs that remind family members to pay rent for the grave or their deceased family member will be "evicted".
At the beginning of the cemetery:
Middle-class tombs:
At the very back of the cemetery:
In the end, a very depressing day, indeed.
I enjoyed reading about your experience visiting these sites. Would it be possible for me to use some of the photographs you took for a presentation I am giving at the University?
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