Local Heritage
Hotel Cabo de Hornos, Recognized as a “Heritage Landmark of Magallanes”
In the heart of Punta Arenas, where Muñoz Gamero Square meets the winds of the Strait of Magellan, rises an architectural icon that is part of the city’s soul: Hotel Cabo de Hornos.
Acknowledged in 2009 by the Bicentennial Commission as the most emblematic 20th-century architectural work in Magallanes, our hotel is not only an urban landmark but also a living symbol of the region’s history, culture, and Patagonian spirit. From its privileged location, it has silently witnessed the growth of the regional capital and hosted countless encounters that have shaped the identity of southern Patagonia.
Vicente González, the Soul of Magallanes Captured in Images
Born in Punta Arenas in 1964, Vicente González Mimica is a professional photographer whose work invites us to see our surroundings through native eyes.
His lens, deeply rooted in local identity, portrays the vast landscapes of the Magallanes Region and, with subtlety and depth, reveals its social and anthropological realities.
At Hotel Cabo de Hornos, we are proud to be a living gallery of his work. His images, carefully displayed throughout the hotel, are more than art: they are testimony and essence.
From the large photographic panel that greets guests at reception to the hallways and rooms, his photographs quietly accompany our visitors’ experience.
Each image is a window to the far south. A visual poem connecting us with the strength of the wind, the silence of the landscapes, and the indomitable spirit of Patagonia. Here, at the end of the world, Vicente González’s art turns every stay into an emotional journey into the depths of the southern soul.
For more information about his work, you may contact him directly at: gonzalezmimicavicente@gmail.com
Paola Vezzani, Patagonia Sculpted in Soul and Matter
Born in Punta Arenas in 1968, Paola Vezzani González is a renowned sculptor and painter from Magallanes whose work—deeply rooted in the southern landscape—has transcended borders, bringing the spirit of Patagonia to public spaces and private collections, including that of Hotel Cabo de Hornos.
Her sculptures, exhibited in our entrance hall, invite visitors on an intimate journey into the essence of our territory.
Each piece is a visual poem of nature, embodying the duality of the far south: the delicacy of the natural world against the strength of a harsh environment, and the serene resilience of those who inhabit the end of the world.
To continue exploring her creative universe, we invite you to visit her art space, La Galería, located at Av. Colón 511, Punta Arenas, Chile.
A Tribute to the Selk’nam Legacy
Every detail of the Hotel Cabo de Hornos interior has been carefully designed to honor the culture and heritage of Patagonia.
Among these unique elements are our ornamental lattice screens, inspired by ancestral symbols of the Selk’nam people—figures once painted on their bodies during sacred ceremonies and rituals.
These lattices not only frame our spaces; they create a play of light and shadow that transforms each corner into a sensory experience, evoking the worldview of an indigenous people who lived in dialogue with nature, the spirits, and the silence of the southern land.
Austral Map Lounge, Charting Routes at the End of the World
Located in our FARO lounge, the Austral Map Lounge is more than a common area: it is an invitation to share journeys, discoveries, and stories among travelers who have arrived from every corner of the globe.
Here, a majestic 6 x 4 meter mural map unfolds the vast geography of the Magallanes Region and the Chilean Antarctic. It is more than cartography—it is an experience. A gaze into the infinite horizons of the south, where each point marks an adventure, a memory, a promise of exploration.
In this lounge, every conversation is a compass, and every photograph shared becomes a new path.
Memory of the Navigator, a Tribute to Journeys at the End of the World
In the cold, challenging waters of the Strait of Magellan, thousands of navigators sailed uncertain routes, driven by discovery, courage, and the need to cross the untamed.
In honor of these tireless spirits, Hotel Cabo de Hornos presents a symbolic vessel sculpture, standing as a testament to the lives devoted to the horizon and to every shipwreck that has left its mark on the deep memory of the southern sea.
An invitation to pause, breathe deeply, and remember that we stand on centuries of voyages—where every wave of the Strait holds a story, and every wind, a voice.
Where the Wind Becomes Art, and Trees Tell Stories
In the immensity of Patagonia, wind-bent trees rise as living sculptures shaped by gusts reaching over 120 miles per hour, their branches sketching the power of nature in the air.
Our interior courtyard—home to ancient avocado trees—is more than a garden. It is a corner where we honor the Patagonian forest, as a tale of resilience and untamed beauty.
Homage to the Paine Massif, Sculpture by Ximena Ducci
Ximena Ducci Budge, born in Santiago in 1955, is one of Chile’s most prominent contemporary ceramicists. Her career is distinguished by a profound symbolic exploration and refined technical mastery, using stoneware as a material that unites the four essential elements: earth, fire, air, and water.
At Hotel Cabo de Hornos, her sculpture pays tribute to the Paine Massif, evoking the awe inspired by Patagonia’s peaks—especially the granite towers of Torres del Paine National Park, which rise as eternal guardians of a sublime and untamed geography.
This work invites us to contemplate, feel, and remember that from this point of the world begins the adventure toward one of the planet’s most iconic destinations.
For more of her work, visit her Instagram: @ximenaducci.
Ferdinand Magellan, Small-Scale Sculpture
