The tour’s Christmas Eve began with a noon concert in the downtown park, Plaza Muñoz Gamero. As described on the TripAdvisor website, the Plaza Muñoz Gamero is “a central plaza of magnificent conifers surrounded by opulent mansions.” Along one side of the park, a number of vendor carts hawk wares to tourists and residents alike. The plaza is organized around a statue of Ferdinand Magellan gazing towards his eponymous strait. At the base of the statue, one of the figures is a native Patagonian Amerindian, whose toe is burnished to a bright luster because it is considered good luck to touch the toe.
During the concert, gifts were exchanged with the mayor of Punta Arenas. Both the mayor and the choir engaged young people in the audience. After selecting one of KSB’s gift for himself, the mayor distributed the CDs to the children in the audience. Mr. Fisher also engaged a young man in the audience, giving him a KSB windbreaker and asking him to join the boys during the gift-giving ceremony.
As usual with outdoor concerts in Chile, we were joined by one of the many dogs that roam the country, who nonchalantly sauntered past the choir to seek the attention of those in the audience. Another ham among all the hams in KSB!
Finally, as we walked away from the concert, we passed the Shackleton Bar, where Ernest Shackleton arranged for a Chilean vessel to rescue the members of his crew that remained stranded after their ill-fated expedition to Antarctica.
Next up: Christmas Eve Mass…
Plaza Muñoz Gamero Concert Punta Arenas, Chile on December 24, 2015. (Photos by E Bryan Crenshaw III).
One of the Ever Present Dogs Nonchalantly Joined the Plaza Muñoz Gamero Concert.
A Placard from the Mayor Presented During the Plaza Muñoz Gamero Concert.
Mr. Fisher Gives Away a KSB Windbreaker to a Local Boy Who Joins the Choir for the Gift-Giving Ceremony at the Plaza Muñoz Gamero Concert.
Local Vendors Sell Their Wares Along the Plaza.
Shackleton’s Tavern Adjacent to the Plaza Muñoz Gamero
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