Pawstral

Pawstral is Chile's debut furry convention, held in Santiago. Launched in 2025 and run by Pawstral Furcon SpA, it's a winter-season, strictly-18+ con that has quickly become the country's flagship furry gathering.

2026: Furry Road

Pawstral returns August 21-23, 2026 with the theme "Furry Road" at Hotel Le Méridien Santiago, trading the previous year's monster-movie idea for dieselpunk and a scorched Mad Max desert. Guests of Honor are the fursuit and puppet maker Cochayuyo Creations, who works on species the fandom usually skips over, and "I Think I Like You!", the wolf-and-rabbit webcomic by Heru and Syd.

All four weekend tiers, from General at CLP 95,000 up to MEGA at 420,000, sold out, and weekend sales closed on 10 July 2026. What is left is the day pass, added in late July at CLP 30,000 for one day, 55,000 for two and 80,000 for three, which can also be bought at accreditation or at the door. A day pass gets you in with a basic wristband and a badge that isn't personalised, so you trade the conbook and the tier merchandise for entry.

The Sunday charity auction sends 100% of what it raises to Fundación Sudamérica Diversa, a Chilean conservation foundation working on the taruka, the north Andean deer. The partnership runs deeper than a cheque: the foundation keeps a table in the Dealer's Den and its biologists give a Saturday panel on how the animal survives in the Atacama.

Why Attend?

Pawstral put Chile on the furry-convention map in 2025 and filled a downtown hotel by its second year. What makes it worth the flight is how thoroughly local it is. The theme is dieselpunk, but the programming is not generic: a geologist walking you through Chilean rocks and minerals, a panel on post-apocalyptic architecture, a craft beer session, a wine tasting, and a conservation talk from the biologists the convention is raising money for. The rooms are named after Santiago landmarks rather than numbered, and the con's own mascot is a colocolo, a wildcat native to Chile.

It is also a convention that plans for people arriving alone. Sunday morning runs a first-timers' meet alongside separate gatherings for greymuzzles, artists, musicians, IT workers and Pokémon fans, and Friday evening opens with a social mixer before anything else competes for attention. For 18+ furries across Chile, Argentina and Peru, this is the flagship weekend of the Southern Cone calendar.

What Are the Highlights of Pawstral?

• Chile's first furry convention: launched in Santiago in 2025 and now the country's flagship event, drawing attendees from across the Southern Cone.
• A charity auction with real teeth: every peso from the Sunday auction goes to Fundación Sudamérica Diversa and its conservation work on the taruka.
• Two guests of honour: fursuit and puppet maker Cochayuyo Creations, plus Heru and Syd, the pair behind the webcomic "I Think I Like You!".
• A programme rooted in Chile: panels on Andean minerals, post-apocalyptic architecture, local craft beer and wine, and taruka conservation science.
• Menagerie and Floor Wars: the Sunday group fursuit photo session and an improvised dance battle on the Main Stage, both requiring advance sign-up.
• Meets for everyone arriving alone: a dedicated first-convention meet plus greymuzzle, artist, musician, IT and Pokéfur gatherings across Sunday morning.

How Do I Get to Pawstral?

By air: Santiago's Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) is the gateway for every international attendee and sits north-west of the city centre. Official airport transfer buses and shared shuttles run into the centre through the day, and a taxi or rideshare is the direct option; allow for Santiago traffic rather than the map's estimate.

By metro: the hotel sits at the eastern end of the Alameda, Santiago's main avenue, a short walk from Plaza Baquedano where Metro Lines 1 and 5 interchange. Line 1 runs directly beneath the Alameda and connects the venue to most of the city centre, so getting to the convention from almost any Santiago neighbourhood is a single ride and a few minutes on foot.

On foot: the convention is embedded in walkable central Santiago. The GAM cultural centre and Parque Bustamante are five minutes away, Barrio Lastarria ten, and Cerro Santa Lucía and Barrio Bellas Artes about fifteen.

By car: the venue faces Santiago's central avenue and parking downtown is limited, so check arrangements with the hotel before driving in.

Where Should I Stay for Pawstral?

Hotel Le Méridien Santiago is both the venue and the obvious answer. Staying in the building puts you upstairs from the Main Stage, the Dealer's Den and a rave that runs until 3am, which matters more at this convention than most because the programming keeps going long after public transport thins out. The convention negotiated a discounted attendee rate and published booking instructions on its own site; demand was heavy enough in 2026 that a second room block was opened in May after the first filled. If you are reading this close to the convention, check availability before assuming the block still has rooms.

The hotel itself carries a restaurant on level 2 and a bar on level 1, both open to guests through the weekend, which is genuinely useful when a fursuiter needs food without leaving the building or changing out of a suit.

If the block is gone, the surrounding area is one of the better-served parts of Santiago for lodging. The venue sits at the meeting point of several central neighbourhoods, with Barrio Lastarria and Barrio Bellas Artes a ten to fifteen minute walk away and Bellavista about twenty, all dense with hotels, apartment rentals, restaurants and late-night food. Because the Alameda is on Metro Line 1, staying a few stations west or east still leaves you a short ride from the door. Book early either way: August is winter in Chile and central Santiago stays busy.

Past Years

2025: Monster Invasion

Pawstral's debut edition ran August 29-31, 2025 at the ICON Hotel in Santiago's Las Condes district, themed "Monster Invasion" (Invasión de Monstruos), with a mascot named Aylén, a giant colocolo wildcat. The 2026 edition moves to Hotel Le Méridien on the central Alameda.

Plan Your Trip

If Pawstral is your first convention, our first convention survival guide covers the things the schedule doesn't, from the 6-2-1 rule to the post-con crash on the flight home, and the con's own "Meet Mi Primera Con" session on Sunday morning exists for exactly the same reason. Flying in from outside Chile with a suit in your luggage is its own problem, and our international travel guide for fursuiters walks through customs, airline handling and what to do when a suit head won't fit in an overhead locker.

Santiago now supports three separate furry conventions across the year, so a trip here doesn't have to land in August. Wüellas FurFest runs at the Radisson Blu Plaza El Bosque over the Halloween weekend, and Santiago Anthro Fest takes the southern summer slot in late February at the Almacruz. All three are 18+, so the same door policy applies whichever you pick.