Fodor's Expert Review Pérgola de las Flores

Santiaguinos come to the Pérgola de las Flores (literally: "gazebo of flowers") markets to buy wreaths and flower arrangements for decoration or to bring to the city's two nearby cemeteries. La Pérgola de las Flores, a famous Chilean musical and movie, is based on the conflict that arose in the 1930s when the mayor of Santiago wanted to shut down the market, which at that time was located near the Iglesia San Francisco on the Alameda; find a chatty florist at one of the two open-air markets—Pérgola San Francisco and Pérgola Santa María, each with about 40 vendors—and you may learn all about it.