Santa Maria Cape Lighthouse

The Cabo de Santa Maria Lighthouse is located on the Uruguayan coast. It was inaugurated on September 1, 1874, with a height of 42 meters and a range of 20.5 nautical miles. In the city there is a fishing and sporting port that is still served by the lighthouse. The lighthouse gave rise to the city of La Paloma that surrounds it.The name of the city was inspired on the silhouette of the cape rocks, which with the strong waves, seen from the sea, resembles a dove (paloma). In 1872, the lighthouse at La Paloma was practically ready, when on a May night, a storm began to gain strength, blowing a very strong wind. Suspicious, one of the Frenchmen who worked in the construction went up the stairs and noticed that there were grooves in the wall. He warned his companion and his boss, who paid no attention to them. Louis, without further explanation, left his workstation and walked in the rain to the nearest house. The next morning, he looked at the horizon and no longer saw the lighthouse, which had been destroyed by the storm. In all, 17 were killed in the “tragédia del faro”. The lighthouse was being built with sea water, which did not properly fix the materials. Thus, on May 17, 1872, the bodies of the lighthouse officials were buried, all in the same place, today called “El Cementerio del Faro Viejo” 100m from the lighthouse. (Various sources) ====== Filmed in 2020 Camera, Pilot and Editing: Luiz Gerbase