Memorial Puente Bulnes, Muro de la Memoria y Plaza Joan Alsina, Memorial site in Santiago, Chile
The Memorial Puente Bulnes stands in the Parque de los Reyes at the entrance of the bridge over the Mapocho River. It has three parts: Plaza Juan Alsina, which serves as an open-air chapel; the MOAC Wall; and the Memory Wall. The plaza's wooden cross holds a piece of the bridge's original railing, pierced by bullet holes.
The memorial commemorates victims of human rights violations during the military dictatorship's early months following the 1973 coup. It was created to honor Father Juan Alsina and those who disappeared, many of whose bodies were recovered from the river.
The Plaza Juan Alsina doubles as an open-air chapel, a concept designed by Claudio Di Girólamo. Its wooden altar cross holds a piece of the bridge's original railing, pierced by bullet holes. The altar inscription quotes Alsina's words to his executioner: "Mátame de frente, que quiero verte para darte el perdón." Each September a Pascua de Juan is held here.
The memorial sits in Parque de los Reyes, at the entrance to the bridge over the Mapocho, in the Santiago commune. Its three elements — Plaza Juan Alsina, the MOAC wall and the Memory Wall — stand together in one compact area, so the whole set can be walked in a short visit. Nearby in the same park are Plaza de los Derechos Humanos and Centro Cultural La Perrera; opposite stands the Población Centenario.
The altar cross is made of wood, and mounted on it is a piece of the original bridge railing, pierced by the bullet holes that are said to have passed through Father Alsina's body. The altar inscription reads: "Mátame de frente, que quiero verte para darte el perdón" — words he spoke to his executioner, Nelson Bañados, who confessed in 1989 to the Catalan priest Miguel Jordá.
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