Family Heritage

No, no, not mine. The coming of the Pacos to America was a faintly distasteful episode involving indentured servitude. I am speaking, now, of Mrs. Paco, and the epic tale of the last few generations of her clan.

Boiled down to the non-epic essentials, Mrs. Paco and her parents were born in South America, but her grandparents, both paternal and maternal, were Palestinian Christians who left Bethlehem sometime around the outbreak of WWI when they were all in their teens. Through hard work and thrift, they were able, within 20 years, to establish substantial interests in Chile in the banking, textile, timber and fishing industries, and everything sailed along pretty smoothly until the advent of the Marxists under Salvador Allende, at which point most of them were forced to flee (Mrs. Paco’s father discovered that the family was on an assassination list that had been drawn up by one of the most extreme parties of Allende’s Popular Coalition).

All of this is rather an elaborate excuse for posting some beautiful photographs which Mrs. Paco recently received from her eldest sister. The pictures depict Castillo Yarur, Mrs. Paco’s grandfather’s former summer residence in Viña del Mar. It is a historical landmark, and a cartoon image of it appeared in a Disney short called “Pablo the Penguin” (the property is still owned by the family, but is currently occupied by the Carabineros – the Chilean National Police – under a long-term lease, and is used, I believe, as an officers’ club). Be sure to click the images in order to fully appreciate the detail.

Note the Moorish designs in this room, located within the turret.





The exterior of the castillo is also impressive.







Although the property is closed to everybody but the police, members of Mrs. Paco's family are still permitted to enjoy overnight stays. Here is one of the guest bedrooms.



Of course, in chucking all this, Mrs. Paco was ultimately rewarded by meeting yours truly, which was...er...an equal exchange, to be sure.