Uploaded on 2016-10-04 by María José Mogrovejo

This is a photogram of ¨María Elena´´, a documentary produced by Rodrigo Lepe which shows the last saltpeter town, of around the world, with people living in it. This documentary shows the current reality of the city, founded in the desert of Chile in 1925 when the production of saltpeter was booming. Over time the processed salt became a threat to saltpeters worldwide, boosting their closures. The town of Maria Elena, founded with over than 1000 inhabitants, had everything a city needed; now, due to industrial absence that drove the only economic activity of its inhabitants, the city has only 35 inhabitants. They, elderly, refuse to leave the city that saw them grow. This picture shows how the city was dependent on its infrastructure: industries, buildings, health facilities, recreation centers, educational institutions, etc. Its low demography is precisely the absence of the above.