GRAFFITIS/ STREET ART in Cerro Polanco- VALPO

Polanco Graffestival, Chile’s first festival for street artists, transformed the community of Cerro Polanco into Valparaíso’s newest tourist attraction.

Street artists from around Chile and Latin America converged on Valparaíso in November 2012 to transform a lower economic neighborhood into the city’s newest travel destination.

Cerro Polanco already stands out for having the city’s only vertical ascensor, the UNESCO World Heritagelisted trolley cars that carry commuters up Valparaíso’s colorful hills, or cerros. But few tourists go beyond the lookout of the distinctive tower-shaped Ascensor Polanco – which offers one of the most commanding views of port city – preferring instead to wander the streets of the more affluent areas of Cerro Alegre and Concepción.

That’s set to change now, thanks to Chile’s first ever street art festival, the Polanco Graffestival, 2012.

Drawing more than 77 artists from all over Chile and Latin America, the three day event saw the creation of more than 30 works of art, literally turning the cerro into an open air gallery, and cementing Valparaíso’s reputationas an international capital of street art.


You get there by taking any bus going to Argentina Avenue and get off at Simpson street. You can tell the driver to leave there. Then just walk towards the hill and you find the entrance ( 150 mts tunnel) of the vertical ascensor. You can also do this tour with Natalislang's extra activities.