To respond to a need detected among our communities and workers in 2019, we created the Art and Culture Competitive Fund, a contest open to company workers and cultural groups interested in presenting their projects for financing. The areas covered by these contributions are: Creation and dissemination of books and reading; Editing and dissemination of artistic and cultural audiovisual material; Promotion and development of music, dances and dances, in their different expressions; and Creation and dissemination of crafts
At the foot of the Láscar volcano, at more than 3 meters above sea level, the indigenous community of Talabre fulfilled a long-awaited dream: The inauguration of two tourist viewpoints located in the sectors of Saltar and Talabre Viejo, whose initiative was supported by SQM and which seeks to develop tourism in the area with the purpose of diversifying the economy of this town, which since the dawn of its settlement has been dedicated to livestock and cultivating the land. The viewpoints were made with rock from the sector so as not to impact the infrastructure or the heritage value of the town. In addition, it has benches, a wind retaining wall, a table and informative signage. The community of Talabre actively participated in the design and construction, who together with SQM focused on generating a space for panoramic viewing of the sector and the Láscar volcano.
The "Encounter of Lakitas: Ckoi Nisaya Ckhuri or The Voice of the Wind" is held in the town of Toconao, organized by the Lakitas Renacer Andino group and sponsored by SQM, which brought together more than one hundred exhibitors of this traditional musical genre, transforming to the Toconao square in a real party, full of color and melodies. This project seeks to promote and pass on the Atacama legacy to new generations in the area. Attendees for more than six hours are delighted with this carnival starring the lakitas Ckuri Ticka and Estrella Andina from San Pedro de Atacama; Lakitas del Carmen de Conchi Viejo; Children of the North of Rio Grande; Lakitas Amautas from the Lasana Valley. They were joined by the hosts Renacer Andino de Toconao, among others.
Casa Telar is a project promoted by Fundación ONA and SQM, and its objective is to commemorate textile art and the ancestral knowledge of the Lickanantay culture. 2019 was marked by significant progress in the program, mainly in the work groups of the communities of Toconao, Socaire, Larache and Talabre, with the fundamental objective of enhancing the Lickanantay Atacameño textile industry. In San Pedro de Atacama, in the town of Toconao, the first Textile Art Documentation Center operates, a place that complements the work carried out by the women who participate in this initiative, which seeks to contribute to preserving the textile heritage of the inhabitants of the commune.
