
Nicolás Valencia talks with Chilean architect Macarena Cortés, author of Turismo y Arquitectura Moderna en Chile, an exploration of the architecture that helped shape Chile as a tourist destination starting in the mid-1930s through railway advertising.
Who is Macarena Cortés? She holds an architecture degree from Universidad Central, as well as a Master’s in Architecture and a PhD in Architecture and Urban Studies from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She also holds a postgraduate degree in Cultural Landscapes, Heritage, and Design from the ETSAB, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. She is an associate professor at the UC School of Architecture and director of the UC Cultural Heritage Center. Her research explores the development of 20th-century Chilean architecture, with a particular focus on the intersection of architecture and tourism. She is the author of the book Turismo y Arquitectura Moderna en Chile and leads the research project and publication Turismo popular, paisaje y memoria: los Balnearios Populares 1971–1973.

