Been There – Santiago

This is Starbucks Been There – Santiago mug released for the capital and largest city of Chile. The city is also known as Santiago de Chile and can literally be translated from Spanish as “Saint-James”. Along with other nearby cities it forms Santiago Metropolitan Region which is home to almost half of the population of the country (around 7 million people live here).
The color palette used for this mug is green, and it seems that architectural points of interest are predominant in the design.
There is, however, a picture of the cougar (Puma concolor), which due to the wide range (both North and South America) is also known as mountain lion, puma, red tiger, and catamount. Not exactly sure what has this “cat” has to do with Santiago specifically though, as I was not able to find anything specific about it and the flag of Santiago de Chile has lion on it, and not cougar (or puma). On a similar note, your best bet to see puma is to go to the Torres del Paine National Park and take a special tour. Around 50 of pumas live here, which makes the task of seeing them less difficult (taken into consideration their caution and stealthy nature).
What else?
– The River Mapocho flows from the Andes into the Pacific ocean and divides the city in two. The name of the river can be translated as “water that penetrates the land”. It is polluted unfortunately as not all of the wastewater is treated. This situation is improving though.
– Estación Alameda a.k.a. Estación Central is the only railway station in the city. It was built in 1885 and then later rebuilt by design of Gustave Eiffel. It is a National Monument now, protected by law against being demolished or remodeled.
– The Former National Congress Building (ex Congreso Nacional) used to house the Chilean Congress till 1973. It was originally built in 1876, then destroyed in a fire of 1895 and then rebuilt, and reopened in 1901.
– Palacio de La Moneda – is the seat of the President of the Republic of Chile. It was built between 1784 and 1805 as mint, and coins were produced here up till the year 1929. The palace also served as the seat of government and presidential residence since 1845. Unfortunately, the building was partially damaged in 1973 during the military coup d’état. It was later restored, although some bullet marks were left intact as a reminder of what happened.
– Mercado Central (Central Market) – is a food market with plenty of fresh vegetables and seafood. It’s a good option to try local food in one of the numerous food court mini restaurants and converge with local atmosphere.
– Maipo Valley is probably the oldest wine region in Chile. Thanks to a specific location and climate, its Cabernet Sauvignon wines are rich and fruit-driven. Maipo Valley is often described as the ‘Bordeaux of South America’ and since it’s so close to Santiago, it makes it a perfect daily trip destination when visiting “la capital de Chile”.

And the last element from the mug I would like to mention, definitely deserves your attention. You probably remember those numerous US Been There mugs with errors? While trying to find the fountain with a warrior figure on the top in Santiago, I came to the realization that it is Statue of Pachacuti at the Plaza de Armas in Cusco. The only problem is, Cusco is located in Peru. Pachacuti was the ninth ruler of the Kingdom of Cusco (“Sapa Inca”) which later grew into the Inca Empire. That being said, I believe this mug will be replaced, once Starbucks finds out they made this error. Thus, I suggest you don’t wait too long to get this mug, or it might be too late.