Baldomero Lillo Traditional Cache

Baldomero Lillo was born in Lota, Chile on January 3, 1867 and died on September 10, 1923.  He was an author. 

Lota, where Baldomero grew up, was a coal mining town.  He spent his adolescence as a clerk at one of the town’s company-owned stores.  There he would talk to miners and occasionally accompany them into the mines.  The conditions for miners was terrible (fourteen hours work days, few safety precautions, and no labor laws to protect them from the arbitrary punishments).

Baldomero set out to improve the conditions by dramatizing their plight.  He wrote many short stories collected in two major books, Sub Terra in 1904 and Sub Sole three years later, denouncing the exploitation and suffering of the miners.  These books sparked the interest of social activists who were also appalled by the conditions in the mines.

Baldomero cares about his community, the people. They matter to him and he works hard to do what he could to help others and make a difference. He gets along with everyone, but not naively. He's a good guy and without exception the nicest person I have ever met.