Case study 1: Animita, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
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Animitas are abundant along Chilean highways. These shrines to the victims of car accidents are not graves but mark the spot where the body was separated from the soul.* It is believed that the souls may still wander around and therefore be able to interact with the visitors to these sites.
Animitas combine Christian symbols with secular memorials and other artefacts, in some case the wracked car. There are also animitas for marking other types of violent death, and for this reason the Catholic Church does not officially recognize animitas.
As animitas are often seen shoulder to shoulder, they indicate that it be very dangerous to travel on the roads in Chile and speed limits are taken as mere recommendations. Indeed, the WHO estimated death rate of 12.5 per 100 000 population per year is the highest rate among the OECD members; compare that to a rate of 2.7 in Switzerland.
I captured this small series of images around San Pedro de Atacama, where long steep grades allure drivers to speeding, while the break pads are overheating.
* The word animita comes from the Chilean word “anima”, that is, “soul” in English.