Plaza Yungay

The plaza boasts a monument to the roto chileno, an homage to the common person, created by sculptor Virginio Arias.

The sculpture commemorates the Chilean troops that defeated the Peru-Bolivian confederation at the Battle of Yungay on 20 January 1839.

[2][3][4][5] The monument to the roto chileno, the collective and anonymous hero of the Battle of Yungay, consist of two pillars of uneven, jutting rock which come together in an inverted U shape.

The Plaza Yungay hosts festivities relating to the Day of the Roto Chileno, an annual celebration held on 20 January.

[11][12] A poem by Winétt de Rokha (published in her 1936 collection Cantoral) called "Valse en la Plaza de Yungay" celebrates not the monument to the "roto chileno" but the beauty of a mysterious sculpture of a female nude -- "the woman of marble" with "breasts of apple and heliotrope"—as she is touched by the evening light.

[13] While in office, former mayor of Santiago, Pablo Zalaquett was informed by a judge that his changes to Plaza Yungay - including having trees cut down and removing the grass - were inappropriate because they were not approved of by the National Monuments Council.

They also complained that the mayor's office hid and denied information relating to its plans from the neighbors and the organization.