Christmas Navidad Parade Santiago | Chile Travel Pictures

Santa Claus Figure On Parade in Santiago Chile 

I was staying at Hotel MonteCarlo, a few blocks north of the parade route.

Along Avenida O'Higgins (the main street) near the Catholic University, I noticed stacks of plywood and wire fencing used for crowd control or construction sites.

On Sunday morning, the day of the parade, the fencing was set up along the street edge, as were raised wooden viewing platforms.

These wooden platforms, accessed by ramps, were set up to accommodate wheelchairs, walkers, and baby carriages.

Everyone seemed in a good mood; no pushing or shoving, no drinking other than water and pop, and making room for newcomers.

Before the parade started, a huge roar went up from the crowd when a policeman on motorcycle followed by a garbage truck drove down the nearly-empty street.

Crowds Line Navidad Parade Route | Christmas in Santiago Chile

Clear sunny weather in Summertime Santiago made for an unusual Christmas experience for this North American!

I really did enjoy the change from cold and clouds.  It didn't really 'feel' like Christmas, especially with hardly any Christmas decorations.

At the most, I saw some Christmas lights, the occasional garland or artificial Christmas trees, usually in hotels or banks, etc.

My friends in Valparaiso confirmed that few Chileans decorated house and stores for Christmas; In North America, Christmas decor goes up the day after Halloween.

Soldiers March in Navidad Parade, Santiago Chile

The street sign in the picture is the street my hotel was on; it runs a few short blocks to the east of Cerro Santa Lucia, a large downtown park built up a hill (cerro).

I found a spot on the hillside sloping down to Victoria Subercaseaux and Av O'Higgins and shouldered my way into the crowds filling the park.

I should mention that I am taller than most Chileans, and all children; I do not stand in the front rows at parades or other public events.

As a result, any pictures I took included the backs of heads of those in front of me :-)

I took some video of parts of the parade, but it's not the best: Strong shadows of late afternoon, many heads in each frame and a precarious perch on a steep slope.

When you cannot take pictures, then just sit back and enjoy it, I say. And I did. A happy event to help replace the bad events earlier in the year. I hope Santiago makes the Navidad parade an annual event.

Sidewalk Vendors at Navidad Parade Route Av O'Higgins Santiago

Downtown Santiago is a street vendors free for all at the best of times, and the Navidad Parade was definitely one of them.

All along Av O'Higgins, vendors covered their blankets with all manner of goods:

Small toys, jewellery, bags of confetti, balloons, popcorn, candy canes and the all-day suckers that seem a great favorite.

Nearby Fast food outlets were busy, too.

Since I couldn't see much of the parade, I went back to the hotel before it ended.

From my window looking out onto Cerro Santa Lucia, I watched the crowds make their way home.

The next morning, the barricades were gone, and teams of cleaners worked their way through the park and sidewalks, cleaning up the mounds of litter left over.

I had breakfast, went to the bank then checked out and took a  cab to the main bus depot. I was headed back to Valparaiso!   Related: Chile travel info; What to Pack.