The Directorate General of International Affairs, represented by its Director Orlando de la Vega, participated in the exhibition "Inhabiting the Wind", which shows the arrival of Belgian citizens to Patagonia. This photographic exhibition shows how immigrants have also contributed to the social conformation of countries. Such is the case of a group of five Belgian families who emigrated to Chile Chico, in the heart of Chilean Patagonia, in the middle of the 20th century.
After World War II, twenty-two adults and twenty-six children disembarked in the southernmost region of our country. There, despite the difficulties, they decided to put down roots and, with the help of the local people, they settled mainly in Chile Chico, on the shores of Lake General Carrera, and formed new families that remain to this day.
To be able to have a visual record of this remarkable history is a privilege we owe to the vibrant photographic culture of the five pioneer families. The first generation of migrants had a penchant for photographically recording their adventures and a tradition of scrapbooking, keeping and classifying files chronologically. The exhibition, which can be read as a poetic visual record of an extraordinary project, was curated by manager Verónica Besnier and photographer María Cristina Raty, a descendant of the founding families.
We are grateful for the invitation extended by the Ambassador of Belgium Christian de Lannoy and the Honorary Consul of Belgium in Valparaíso Ruth Engels, together with the Baburizza Palace, the Museum of Fine Arts of Valparaíso and the Wallonia-Brussels Representation in Chile.
