Barrio Lastarria

This guide to Barrio Lastarria in Santiago starts with a small deception: the Church of the Vera Cruz was inaugurated to cheering crowds in 1855 on Chile's independence anniversary, though its towers and roof weren't actually finished until two years later. It traces the neighborhood's own turn from red-light district to bohemian quarter, then reaches a night in November 2019 when the street protests convulsing Santiago arrived at this same square. Listen for what the church lost that night, and what one crucifix escaped.