Stony Brook University associate history Professor Eric Zolov and his family found themselves amid civil unrest in Chile. While the violence and havoc were devastating, something beautiful came out of the protests — estallido artístico.

"Tu normalidad es privilegio," is graffitied over an entire wall along the Nueva Providencia Avenue in downtown Santiago. After six weeks of nearly continuous street protests and a growing tally of the dead and wounded, the debate over "a return to normalcy" has taken center stage here in Chile.