Extensión cultural en la Universidad de Talca: antecedentes, realidad, presente y desafíos.

Abstract

After a quick review of the history, life and cultural activities at the university in the Chilean city of Talca, this paper describes the main cultural outreach activities carried out by the Universidad de Talca in different artistic fields, all of which are based on the principles of excellence, tolerance, broadmindedness in ideological and esthetical terms and social responsibility. The paper emphasizes the fact that a large part of what has been accomplished in cultural terms is intended to revert the phenomenon of cultural centralism -that gives rise to an unequal and growing inequality in the access to culture- and the corporate efforts to compensate for the lack of cultural capital with which a high percentage of university students enroll in the university.