It’s been a rainy winter in Chile, and capital Santiago has seen its fair share of spoils from the rain gods. So much so that recently the zombie-like Mapocho River that runs through the center of the city was overflowing, leading Isaura Martinez Rojas from Cochrane, Aysen, to drop her kayak in the deluge. 

In late August, and for the second time this winter, the 20-year-old Martinez, who competes internationally in kayak competitions and learned the sport with Escualos Cochrane, a kayaking club that sharpens its skills on the mighty Baker River in southern Chilean Patagonia, went kayaking in Santiago. 

“Two months ago with the rains, the rivers exploded in the Metropolitan region, so I anxiously grabbed my kayak and paddled down the river in the middle of the capital,” Martinez says. She was joined by her friend Vincente Chomon on her most recent excursion along the Mapocho.

 

 

For Martinez, the protection of all of Chile's rivers, even the urban Mapocho, is important. 

“City life, it becomes so monotonous, the routine burns you and turns us into consumerist masses. We stop paying attention to details. At what point did we stop being impacted by the small everyday simple things, such as observing the water cycle of the Mapocho. Does a person have to jump into a kayak to see it with different eyes? “

Adds Martinez: “We kayakers are the guardians of the water cycle to keep the water flowing freely. I wonder, in 30 years, will kayaking in the rivers of the south be like this? A river without a shore, turned into a stone canal with washing machines and cans thrown into it, will it be like paddling among the despised and forgotten?”

 

 

 

 

Mapocho's history is similar to many other urban rivers around the world. Neglected, deteriorated and contaminated until efforts from non-profits and environmental activists began a renewed interest in reviving the river’s waters and habitat. For years, wastewater was dumped there. Now, it's been clear of sewage for over a decade but normally the river is too dry for kayakers. 

In 2022, the governor of the Santiago Metropolitan Region began the Mapocho Urban Wetland Initiative to protect a section of the river, located between Vitacura and Lo Barnechea. 

Still, Martinez said the neglect remains visible. “I was shocked by the garbage all around, because for many people in the city, the river is a place to dump the things they don't use, instead of going to a landfill.”