ICDVRAT with ArtAbilitation 2010

Conference Location : Viña del Mar / Valparaíso, Chile

About Viña del Mar … Founded as a seaside resort for the upper class, Viña del Mar was born from the division of the “La Viña del Mar” hacienda of Dolores Perez. Her daughter and sole heiress, Mercedes Alvarez, married the businessman and politician José Francisco Vergara, who created a plan that would give birth to this coastal city. Shortly after the plan was passed in 1874, the Municipality of Viña del Mar was created.

Over the years, the new seaside town would come to be an exclusive summer vacationing spot for the aristocracy from the capital city and principal coastal port of the country, who built large mansions and elegant avenues.

Currently, Viña del Mar is recognized as the Tourism Capital of Chile, and as a “Garden City” due to its being surrounded by large swaths of green areas. The city has 13 beaches (approximately 3.5 kilometers), the most important of which is located in Reñaca, the city’s main beach, which has a life of its own and includes all the installations and infrastructure necessary to receive a large number of tourists. It has a very unique architecture, with beautiful residential neighborhoods complete with chalets surrounded by beautiful gardens and a number of modern high-rises, most of which are located on the beachfront. In walking through its streets, and as a testimony to the golden age of Viña del Mar, one can find palaces and antique buildings that date back to the beginning of the 20th century.

The Municipality of Viña del Mar is located in the V Region of the country, in the Valparaíso Province, approximately 120 kilometers from Santiago and only 9 kilometers from Valparaiso, the country’s main port city, as well as the regional and national legislative capital. Viña del Mar has a smooth summer climate and temperate winters; rain is limited almost exclusively to the winter season (from the end of April to August). During the winter, frosty temperatures are practically unknown to this area, which maintains a smooth and agreeable spring-like climate all year round.

The inhabitants from the hinterland of Chile, where Santiago and other important cities are located, travel to Viña del Mar in all seasons in order to have fun, rest and relax, or to escape from the heat of summer or the cold of winter. Among the consequences of this particular climate is the facility for the adaptation and development of multiple, and at times delicate, species of flowers and vegetation, both native and exotic. As such, Viña del Mar offers a beautiful spectacle due to the variety, profusion and rich color of its trees and flowers.