Santiago a Mil International Theatre Festival (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

: ''Festival Internacional Santiago a Mil'') is an annual

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that takes place in January in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. It is the largest arts festival in Chile and includes theatre, dance and music events from Chile and abroad, performed in the capital city, Santiago, and around the country. Run by the non-profit Teatro a Mil International Festival Foundation (FITAM), the festival aims to provide affordable access to quality cultural events for the Chilean public, to support the development of theatre and the performing arts in Chile, and to promote Chilean theatre to the international arts scene. The 2013 edition of the festival hosted 296 indoor events and 80 street-based events, attracting half a million spectators.

History

Santiago a Mil launched in 1994 as the ''Festival Teatro a Mil''. It was renamed ''Teatro a Mil International Festival'' in 2001 before assuming its current name in 2006. The first edition of the festival in 1994 ran for two months in the remodelled

Estación Mapocho Estación Mapocho is a former railway station that, since 1994, has been refitted as a cultural centre that hosts many kinds of events. History The design and construction of the station began in 1905 at the hands of Emilio Jecquier, a Chilean ...

in Santiago. It was conceived in response to the surge in theatre and the arts experienced in Chile after the end of the

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in 1990. Three theatre companies took part: Teatro de la Memoria ("Memory Theatre"), who performed the ''Chile Testimonial Trilogy'' directed by Alfredo Castro; La Troppa, performing ''Pinocchio''; and Teatro del Silencio ("Theatre of Silence"), who performed ''Taca-Taca mon amour'' directed by Mauricio Celedón.

Name

The name "Santiago a mil" is

for "Santiago for 1,000 (pesos)" and refers to the low entry price of 1,000 Chilean pesos for events in the festival's early years. It is also a play on the phrase "trabajar a mil por hora", Spanish for "working a mile a minute". Prices for some events have risen over the years but affordability is still a central factor, with several free performances and many low-cost tickets at the 2014 edition of the festival.

Santiago a Mil 2014

The 2014 edition of Santiago a Mil runs from January 3–19 and includes 390 events: 67 stage shows (35 by Chilean companies and 32 from abroad) as well as music, street theater, workshops, and talks. Almost 50 events are free of charge. The festival is based in Santiago but events are also being held in the

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Arica y Parinacota The Arica y Parinacota Region ( es, link=no, Región de Arica y Parinacota ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Arica and Parinacota. It borders Peru's Department of Tacna to the north, Bolivi ...

Tarapacá San Lorenzo de Tarapacá, also known simply as Tarapacá, is a town in the region of the same name in Chile. History The town has likely been inhabited since the 12th century, when it formed part of the Inca trail. When Spanish explorer Diego d ...

Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. After the Spanish American wars ...

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

, O’Higgins and Bío Bío. To mark 21 years since the festival's launch in 1994, the 2014 edition also includes two retrospectives of theatre companies that have taken part in Santiago a Mil since its debut: Viajeinmóvil and Teatrocinema.Viajeinmóvil y TeatroCinema programan sus obras más destacadas para Santiago a Mil
BioBioChile, Benjamín Ahumada, 30.12.2013. Retrieved 04.01.2014.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.stgoamil.cl, Santiago a Mil International Theatre Festival - official website
Santiago a Mil International Festival Foundation website
Festivals in Chile Theatre in Chile Summer events in Chile