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Lota Chile Travel Guide by All Southern Chile
Eduardo Cortés Cárdenas, Coal Sculptures from Lota
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Lota

He has dedicated his life to mining, long after the mines have closed.

Don Eduardo is today an artist, but worked for years as a Coal miner in the mines of Lota before it closed in 1997. We often think of Southern art in terms of its traditional source, either in local culture or some European tradition.  Don Eduardo's art is uniquely refreshing in that he invented this art and this medium as a means to survive after the closing of the Mines in Lota.  He represents a unique period in Chilean history by the style, subject, and the medium he uses that depicts the glory years of the region.

Eduardo Cortes Coal Sculptures
 It is the influences of his life that are represented in the pieces of Art. A miner in his heart, with memories that he makes you feel, especially when he proudly displays his helmet and the number written on it that would have been used to identify a miner after an accident. He has dedicated his life to mining, long after the mines have closed.
Eduardo Cortes Mine Helmet
Beyond his own art, he has become the ambassador to promoting Lota and its efforts to transform into a tourist attraction. Among Lota's more interesting attractions is a tour of the old mine known as the Garganta del Diablo, (The Devil's Throat) that goes 1200 meters under the sea. Don Eduardo tells us that he does not get his coal from the mine, but from the ocean near the docs where they loaded the Coal. The best quality pieces of Coal have survived the pounding of the Ocean, and this is what he uses for his Sculptures.
Address: Calle Cousiño 619, El Copihue. Sector Feria de Lota.
Phone: 56 41 877 659
Contact: Eduardo Cortés Cárdenas