Differential locational harmony: the Cristo Redentor statue in the Uspallata Pass

On the surface, the Christ of the Andes monument erected in 1904 on the border between Argentina and Chile is dedicated to peace. Scratch that surface and the locational harmony appears highly differential, matching previous research by geographers and political scientists demonstrating a peculiar intensity of Argentine nationalism and Chilean defensiveness. The path of this differential harmony is traced and deciphered from a variety of primary, secondary and vernacular Internet sources. Argentina takes a much more intense and patriotic view of the monument while Chile is more skeptical and defensive toward the “peace” represented. Only during the last 5 years have the statue and the pass produced true acts of bi-national understanding, but such activities exhibit more local than national feeling. The regional and international diffusion of political and religious ideas fostered by the statue are also explored. The statue has never truly represented peace for these countries and the effectiveness of such bi-national monuments among rivals is questioned.