Palacio de La Moneda

Thursday 5th May 1988

We got up surprisingly early thanks to the alcohol-free evening and at 09:00 hrs. we were off to watch the Changing of the Guard at the Presidential Palace. La Moneda Palace Guard (Spanish: Guardia de Palacio de la Moneda) is the ceremonial escort to the President of Chile and also assists with physical security at La Moneda Palace. It is an operational component of the Carabineros de Chile.

A changing of the guard ceremony occurs every 48 hours at 10:00 hrs. During it, two Carabineros mounted units and the Central Band of the Carabineros escort the incoming guard detachment to La Moneda, and the outgoing detachment from it. The current drill for the changing of the guard was instituted in 1936. Both the old and new guard detachments have an infantry company and a cavalry platoon, with two buglers, while the old guard detachment has a drummer attached.

Each Monday since its inception the Guard has provided two, ten-man squads, a drummer and a bugler to form a cordon of honor for the entrance of the President of Chile into La Moneda at the start of the work week. If the President is outside the capital, the drill is performed instead for the Vice President. The guard of honor platoon is made up of infantrymen from the Guard's infantry component.

Palacio de La Moneda (Palace of the Mint), or simply La Moneda, is the seat of the President of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: Interior, General Secretariat of the Presidency and General Secretariat of the Government. It occupies an entire block in downtown Santiago, in the area known as Civic District between Moneda (North Side), Morandé (East), Alameda del Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins (South) and Teatinos street (West).

La Moneda, originally a colonial mint house, was designed by Italian architect Joaquín Toesca. Construction began in 1784 and was opened in 1805, while still under construction. The production of coins in Chile took place at La Moneda from 1814 to 1929.

In June, 1845 during president Manuel Bulnes's administration, the palace became the seat of government and presidential residence. In 1930, a public square, named Plaza de la Constitución ("Constitution Square") was built in front of the palace. After the presidency of Gabriel González Videla it ceased to serve as a presidential residence.

During the military coup d'état on September 11, 1973, the Chilean Air Force bombed the palace at the request of the army. The president Salvador Allende committed suicide in the palace at this time. Reconstruction and restoration projects of the damage caused were completed in March 1981, although some bullet marks have been preserved and can still be seen today. During the 1973–1980 restorations, an underground office complex (the so-called "bunker") was built under the front square to provide a safe escape for General Augusto Pinochet in case of an attack.

I got a tub of oily cerviche for breakfast, and we watched the army clicking their polished jack boots as a military band played modern music. The whole affair took about an hour and got a bit tedious.

Next, we browsed through the second-hand book stalls on San Diego and picked up some goodies from the supermarket, including wine boxes (a relatively new innovation) of Gato Negro (Black Cat) Chilean wine.

Back at the hotel Kathy and I couldn’t be bothered to walk to another of the city parks so we let Preston and Karin go off while we lounged about reading and writing on our beds. Gerrard, the Irishman came to call and as I had some letters to post I walked with him to the Plaza de Armas.

We joined an international crowd outside the Marco Polo Restaurant on the square drinking beer on the tables under umbrellas as it got colder and colder. At 20:00 hrs. I went back to get a coat and meet the others. They were out getting another Chinese meal so I chatted to the Dutch bloke and his Chilean girlfriend with an American accent until they reappeared at 21:00 hrs.

Preston and I made hot chocolate drinks on the stove downstairs in the hotel and we all sat around candles stuck in empty Pisco Sour bottles (Capel pisco sour en limón, born in the Elqui Valley and produced by mixing the authentic Chilean pisco, lemon and a touch of egg white.), chatting until midnight.