Santiago Culture

Santiago is experiencing something of a renaissance after years in the cultural wilderness. Many leading artistic lights fled Chile (a few, such as legendary folk singer Victor Jara, were even killed) when the Pinochet dictatorship stamped its iron fist down on the city. Following the return to democracy in 1990, the country's artistic community was slow to come back but is once again flourishing today. There are quirky plays, films, music and authors coming out of Chile and the country is certainly punching its weight culturally despite its relative geographic isolation.

A good source of information for what's on in the city are the entertainment listings found in the Tiempo Libre supplement of the El Mercurio newspaper (www.emol.com) and the Cultura section of La Tercera (www.tercera.cl). It is also worth reading the Santiago Times (www.santiagotimes.cl) for an idea on what is going on.

You can pick up information on shows and performances at cultural centres, such as the Instituto Cultural de Providencia, 11 de Septiembre 1995 (tel: (02) 784 8600; www.proviarte.cl), or the Centro Cultural Estación Mapocho, Plaza de la Cultura (tel: (02) 787 0000; www.estacionmapocho.cl). Tickets are available at the individual box offices, or visitors can use ticket agency Ticketmaster (tel: (02) 690 2000; www.ticketmaster.cl). Otherwise, the music store Feria del Disco (tel: (02) 592 8500; www.feriadeldisco.cl or www.feriaticket.cl) sells tickets for many of the sporting and cultural events going on around the city.

Music and Dance: Perhaps the best time to be in Santiago to witness, hear and even participate in its traditional music and dance is around the time of the fiestas patrias national holiday (18 September) when renditions of the handkerchief-waving dance La Cueca take place all over the country. There is something harmonious going on all year round however, from folk music riffs drifting out of various Bellavista haunts, to the tango and salsa schools dotted around the city. There is even a thriving indie music scene including bands such as Los Bunkers, La Ley and the long-established Los Prisioneros.

If your tastes are more classical, the best place to investigate is the Teatro Municipal, Calle Agustinas 794 (tel: (02) 463 8888 or 1000; www.municipal.cl), an ornate 19th-century theatre built in a European style by Frenchman Charles Garnier, architect of the casino in Monte Carlo. The Santiago Ballet and the Santiago Philharmonic Orchestra both perform here, often together, and it has been the scene of some world-class tango performances.

Theatre: Chile has a thriving theatrical tradition and performances catering to most tastes can be found across Santiago - there are more than 20 established theatres around the city. The grandest performances are held at the Teatro Municipal (see Music and Dance above), but the Teatro Nacional, Calle Morandé 25 (tel: (02) 696 1200; www.tnch.uchile.cl), is also highly reputable and puts on more contemporary productions. You can also find more experimental theatre, especially around Bellavista and Barrio Brasil - check the newspaper culture sections for the latest.

Film: Once noted for its experimental cinema, Chile produced almost no films of note during the dictatorship years (1973-1990). More recently, however, several pieces of Chilean film-making have gained audiences beyond the country's borders, perhaps most spectacularly with Andrés Wood's Machuca (2004), a beautifully moving story of two boys' friendship at the time of the 1973 military coup. Boris Quercia's Sexo Con Amor (2003), a light-hearted look at the country's attitudes toward sex, is another film that gained an international audience. Other directors to look out for include Silvio Caiozzi, Miguel Littin, Pablo Perelman, Ricardo Larraín, Patricio Guzmán and Gonzalo Justiniano.

The most famous films about Chile include Costa Gavras' 1982 work Missing, starring Jack Lemmon. This documents an American's search for his 'disappeared' son, against a backdrop of US complicity in the violence. US-based Chilean writer Ariel Dorfman's play Death and the Maiden was adapted for film in 1994 by director Roman Polanski. Starring Sigourney Weaver and Ben Kingsley, it tells the story of a victim of the coup forced to confront her former torturer after a chance meeting.

Chileans do not always dub foreign films, so Hollywood blockbusters are often shown in English with Spanish subtitles. Santiago's largest, multiplex-style cinemas are Cinemark, various venues (tel: 600 586 0058, in Chile only; www.cinemark.cl), and Cine Hoyts, Paseo Huérfanos 735, Moneda 835 and other locations (tel: 600 500 0400, in Chile only; www.cinehoyts.cl). Santiago's best art-house cinemas are Cine Arte Alameda, Alameda 139 (tel: (02) 664 8821 or 8842; www.centroartealameda.cl), and Cine El Biógrafo, Lastarria 181 (tel: (02) 633 4435), both in the centre of town.