O'Higgins Park (), formerly known as Cousiño Park () and originally as Campo de Marte, is an urban park of roughly in the Santiago Commune, in the center of Santiago, Chile. It is Santiago's second-largest public park after Metropolitan Park, and one of the city's principal "green lungs."
Named for Bernardo O'Higgins, one of Chile's founding fathers, the park began as a nineteenth-century private donation and has since evolved into the country's foremost venue for mass public events. It hosts the annual Fiestas Patrias festivities, including the presidential military parade on 19 September, and has been the stage for two papal visits, the Lollapalooza Chile music festival, a round of the Formula E world championship, and a Davis Cup tie that ended in controversy. The park's landmarks include the Movistar Arena (renamed Santander Arena in 2026), the amusement park Fantasilandia, a Chinese garden and a Tibetan garden, and El Pueblito, a cluster of restaurants, craft stalls, and small museums. It is served by Parque O'Higgins metro station and lies alongside the Autopista Central highway.
History
Origins and Cousiño Park
Before 1870 the site was known as La Pampilla or El Llano, a forested tract used for horseback riding and for the annual celebration of Chile's national holiday, when the city's wealthier and poorer classes mingled for a few days each year at the fondas and ramadas set up there. The land lay south of the old city center, between what are now Santa Rosa and San Ignacio streets, and stretched to the Zanjón de la Aguada canal; an adjoining esplanade known as the Campo de Marte was included within it.
The Chilean government purchased the land in 1845 and initially used its southern portion for state buildings, including a jail. In 1870 it granted the northern portion to the Chilean politician, mining entrepreneur, and philanthropist Luis Cousiño, who financed its transformation as a gift to the city, drawing on the fortune he had made in the coal-mining boom of south-central Chile. Inspired by the parks he had seen in Europe, Cousiño hired French landscaper Guillermo Renner to lay out the grounds. The park was formally inaugurated in 1873 by his widow, Isidora Goyenechea, and named Parque Cousiño in his honor.When Parque Cousiño became Parque O'Higgins sentidoscomunes.cl September 14, 2013, retrieved on March 21, 2015
1926 coronation of the Virgin of Carmen On 19 December 1926, Cousiño Park hosted one of the largest religious gatherings in Chilean history: the solemn coronation of the Virgin of Carmen as Queen and Patroness of Chile. Hundreds of thousands of people converged on the park for the ceremony, held before an eighteen-meter altar erected for the occasion. The coronation was performed by the papal nuncio to Chile, Monsignor Benedetto Aloisi Masella, acting on behalf of Pope Pius XI. The image crowned that day is preserved in Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral and is carried in procession through the city on the last Sunday of every September.
1971–1972 renovation and El Pueblito
Between May 1971 and November 1972, the park underwent a complete renovation. The project built El Pueblito ("the little village"), a cluster of more than fifteen restaurants, paved the parade grounds, and expanded the seating capacity of the surrounding stands. Landscape architects Carlos Martner, Raúl Bulnes, Yolanda Schwartz, Irene Boisser, Pedro Soto, Myriam Beach, and Virginia Plubins led the redesign. The grounds reopened under the name Parque O'Higgins on 2 November 1972 and were opened to the public two days later.When Parque Cousiño became Parque O'Higgins sentidoscomunes.cl September 14, 2013, retrieved on March 21, 2015
Fantasilandia
Fantasilandia, Chile's largest amusement park, opened in the park's northwest corner on 26 January 1978, built in just 115 days by a partnership between agronomist Gerardo Arteaga, businessman Enrique Rodríguez Calvo, and brothers Juan Pablo and Alfonso Barriles Correa.Prmera piedra de la piscina olmpica latercera June 08, 2012, retrieved on March 22, 2015 The project traced its origins to a Belgian priest, Josse Van Der Rest, who in 1975 donated a set of used bumper cars to benefit the charity Hogar de Cristo; their popularity, first in Viña del Mar and then in Santiago, persuaded Arteaga to build a permanent park, with the backing of Santiago's mayor, Patricio Mekis, and a loan from the state development agency Corfo. It opened with eight rides, including a bumper-car track, a carousel, and a haunted house, and was expanded in 1984 after drawing more than five million visitors.
In 2024 the park's operator announced that Fantasilandia would relocate to a new, larger site in the neighboring commune of San Bernardo after a fifty-year municipal concession to occupy O'Higgins Park was not renewed; the move, involving an estimated investment of US$110 million, was expected to be completed in stages between late 2026 and 2027, ending Fantasilandia's nearly half-century presence in O'Higgins Park.
Movistar Arena / Santander Arena Construction of an indoor stadium in the park, designed by architect Mario Recordón for the 1959 World Basketball Championship, began in 1956, but funding was diverted to remodeling Estadio Nacional ahead of the 1962 FIFA World Cup, leaving the stadium's shell unfinished for decades. Work resumed under President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle in the late 1990s, and after a further tender by the Ministry of Public Works, the venue was finally completed and opened to the public in March 2006 as the Arena Santiago, in a ceremony led by then-president Ricardo Lagos; its first concert was headlined by the Chilean band Los Tres, followed days later by Daddy Yankee and, in May 2006, a visit by the Dalai Lama.El "elefante blanco" que se convirtió en epicentro musical economiaynegocios.cl May 09, 2011, retrieved on March 22, 2015 In October 2008, Telefónica's cellphone division Movistar bought the naming rights, and the venue became the Movistar Arena, with capacity expanded to about 17,000 for concerts.El "elefante blanco" que se convirtió en epicentro musical economiaynegocios.cl May 09, 2011, retrieved on March 22, 2015
In late 2025, Live Nation Entertainment, through a company linked to Ticketmaster, acquired a 51 percent stake in the venue's operating company. After Telefónica's successor, Millicom, declined to renew its sponsorship, the arena was renamed Santander Arena in September 2026 under a new naming-rights agreement with Banco Santander.
Davis Cup controversy In 2000, the arena hosted a tie between Chile and Argentina as part of the Davis Cup. During the second singles match between Nicolás Massú and Mariano Zabaleta, the crowd reacted violently, throwing objects onto the court and forcing Argentina to withdraw from the tie.Tennis chiefs consider sanctions after Davis Cup fiasco The Independent, 10 April 200, sourced 22 March 2015.
Religious visits In 1987, Pope John Paul II led a beatification ceremony in the park for Teresa of Los Andes.La convulsionada visita del Papa Juan Pablo II a Chile guoteca.cl retrieved on March 22, 2015 The ceremony was interrupted when violence broke out between the Carabineros de Chile and crowds protesting Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship. Once the disturbance subsided, the pope, seen by many as a supporter of Chile's return to democracy, closed his address with the words "love is stronger."La batalla del parque O'Higgins El Pais, Madrid, April 05, 1987, retrieved on March 22, 2015
On 16 January 2018, Pope Francis celebrated an open-air Mass for Peace and Justice in the park during his apostolic visit to Chile. Although the venue's ordinary capacity is around 60,000, an estimated 400,000 people attended, some arriving before dawn; the Mass was preceded by protests over the Church's handling of clergy sexual abuse in Chile, and Bishop Juan Barros, whose 2015 appointment had drawn criticism, concelebrated alongside the pope. In his homily on the Beatitudes, Francis said Jesus' proclamation of the poor and afflicted as blessed calls people to look past resignation and isolation and toward reconciliation.
Formula E From 2019, the park hosted a round of the Formula E world championship on a temporary street circuit built around the arena, replacing an earlier course through Santiago's Forestal Park that had drawn opposition from local residents. The 14-turn, Parque O'Higgins Circuit staged the 2019 Santiago ePrix, won by Sam Bird, and returned in 2020 with a revised, shorter layout of 11 turns. The event has not been held since the 2020 edition.
Lollapalooza Chile In November 2010, musician and Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell announced that the festival's first edition outside the United States would take place in O'Higgins Park. The inaugural Lollapalooza Chile took place on 2–3 April 2011 and drew a crowd of about 100,000, using venues across the park including the Movistar Arena, La Elipse, and the Cúpula theater. The festival grew from a two-day to a three-day event for its 2018 edition, held 16–18 March with more than 100 artists across seven stages; roughly 250,000 people attended over the three days. Lollapalooza Chile has returned to the park annually since 2011 (excepting the COVID-19 pandemic years), most recently on 13–15 March 2026.
Gardens and monuments A Tibetan garden was inaugurated inside the park in 1992 to mark the first visit of the Dalai Lama to Chile. In 2006 the Chinese government funded the construction of a Chinese garden on the park's southern slope, one of the largest of its kind in South America.
Fiestas Patrias Every September, O'Higgins Park becomes the national focal point of Chile's Fiestas Patrias celebrations. In El Pueblito and across several stages, the municipality installs dozens of fondas, open-air venues offering traditional food and dancing, including the national dance, the cueca. On 19 September, the Day of the Glories of the Army, the Military Parade is held on La Elipse before the president and other senior government officials. The celebrations, which typically run for four to six days, were suspended for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed in 2022.
Facilities and recreation
The park's facilities include El Pueblito, with its craft stalls and small museums such as the Museum of the Huaso and the Insect and Snail Museum; Fantasilandia, the country's largest amusement park; and the Movistar/Santander Arena, one of the largest multipurpose indoor arenas in South America. The park also has a public swimming pool, a roller-skating rink, a skate park, tennis courts, a soccer field, an open-air theater, and two artificial lagoons, linked by walking trails that run the length of the grounds. Universidad Bernardo O'Higgins is located on the park's eastern edge.
Infrastructure and access The park is served directly by Parque O'Higgins metro station and lies alongside Santiago's Autopista Central highway, making it readily accessible from across the metropolitan area.
See also Santiago Metropolitan Park Parque Forestal Parque de los Reyes
Notes
References
External links
360-degree aerial view of O'Higgins Park Domínguez, Martín. 2000. Parque Cousiño y Parque O'Higgins: imagen pasada, presente y futura de un espacio verde en la metrópoli de Santiago. en Revista de Urbanismo N° 3 de agosto de 2000.