La Dieciochera
September 18th (
el dieciocho, or simply the 18th) is the Chilean equivalent of July 4th in the US. It's considered independence day, though technically it marks the anniversary of the first meeting of a Chilean government (
junta) that met to enforce the Spanish king's reign over the country, rather than to fight against. Point is: there is still lots of grilled meat and alcohol. I bused up from the island to Osorno (about 4 1/2 hours) where several other gringos are living. The hostel we stayed at was quite interesting--hot water was only available for a short block of time in the morning and at night; I slept in every morning and we didn't get back until late every night, so I just skipped on the personal hygiene thing. We were also woken up at 7 in the morning with a knocking at our door to be offered tea and piss-poor powered coffee. Overall, it was still a clean and decent place for $14/night. The
fiestas patrias, or patriotic holidays, looked something like this...
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| Festive streets of Osorno. |
Comida
The town was fully decked out in red, white, and blue: flags hung up and down every block, each house had a flag either planted in the yard or hung out a window, and streamers/decorations covered the streets. We spent most of our time wandering around a big fair that was a Chilean mix of southern county fairs and the carnivals that pop up at local Catholic churches in the fall (though there was no deep fried Coke or obnoxious roller coasters). We pigged out on
milcaos (fried batter with bits of pig lard; exactly like Polish placki),
anticuchos (skewers of pork, beef, onions, and even hot dog weiners), and of course
empanadas filled with meat, onions, eggs, and black olives. My favorite food of the night, however, was a mixture of shredded beef and sausage stuffed into a fresh roll.
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| Kelly with the beef/sausage sandwich. Almost like a Chilean Portillo's. |
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| Chowin' down on a sopaipilla con queso |
We washed the food down with Chilean red wines,
chicha (sweet fermented apple wine),
mote con huesillo (cooked dry peaches and stewed corn), and even a cheap Russian beer that tasted decent enough.
Rodeo
In addition to feasting on the awesome, greasy cuisine, we also cheered on participants at the
cueca dance competition and
huasos at the rodeo. The
cueca is the national dance in which the man (the
huaso) flirts with and pursues the coy female partner (the
huasa or
china). Both dress in traditional folk attire and wave white handkerchiefs in the air. For more on the
cueca, check out the dance section below. The Chilean rodeo is quite different from what we have in the US. Here, the cowboys (
huasos) ride in pairs and chase a calf around the arena, trying to pin him up against one of several mats on the walls. Depending on how the calf is pinned by the horses, the huaso duo gets a certain number of points; pinning the cow's backside against the wall is worth more than pinning it by the neck. The huasos wear traditional garb and each pair of riders has a few minutes in the ring, before a new calf is brought out for the next pair. Interestingly all the riders chill in the center of the arena while the other huasos take their turns, and since this is an all-day event the cattle seem to be in pretty rough shape by the end of the day. Here's what one of the calves looks like getting pinned:
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| Tenderizing my dinner. |
We
wrapped up the weekend by watching a waiter race in the town's main plaza. Waiters and waitresses jogged/walked quickly one or two laps around the plaza with a tray of wine and several glasses. First to make it past the finish line without dropping anything won. It was great to experience (and taste!) this quintessential Chilean holiday. Also, just in time for the holidays spring has arrived and I'm actually starting to remember what warm weather
feels like.
Fiesta de Chilenidad
I'm still not sure if Chilean Nationality Day is its own thing, or if my teachers were simply referring to the fiestas patrias, but either way our school had a day of traditional folk dances last Friday. The students dressed up in attire ranging from tradition cowboy hats and spurs to Pacific Islander grass skirts and Mapuche colorful dresses. Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, is a Chilean island way out west near Polynesia. The seniors that performed a Rapa Nui dance illustrated plenty of Hawaiian hula influence. The Mapuche are the largest surviving indigenous tribe living in the central region of Chile, thus the fifth graders dancing to Mapuche music reminded me of the various Native American dances of North America.
The little kids teamed up with our gym teacher Jorge to perform an awesome Chilote (meaning from Chiloe Island) dance. Dressed in typical thick Chilote wool hats and warm clothing, the boys and girls danced in two circles, one wrapped around the other, moving in opposite directions. One boy had a broom, and when he tapped on the ground with the handle, the boys' outer circle moved inside, and the girls' circle became the outer circle. Then the boy would throw the broom down, and everyone ran for a partner. The last boy standing alone picked up the broom and continued.
The junior high students danced the cueca. The cueca is the national dance, and each region of the country (the north, central, and southern zone) has its own variation of it. The dance consists of a couple recreating the mating ritual of a rooster and a hen. The huaso (a Chilean cowboy) wears a straw hat, a poncho thrown over an Andalusian waist jacket, tall boots, and huge spurs. He pursues his female partner throughout the song, following her around the dance floor, but never actually touching her. The huaso's sweetheart, the china, has varying attire depending on the region, but usually wears a big, bright colored dress. They both wave around their white handkerchief to flirt with and impress the other.
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| Typical huaso, our school vice-director Christian. |
Two extra videos. The first dance makes me think of a funny mixture of Chilean folk culture, Polish goral highlander dancing, and a black frat/sorority step show. The second dance features a sophomore doing something that seems like ballet-infused folk dancing.
For the full photo album from the 18th celebrations and the student dances, check out my facebook album here.
Feel free to leave love in the comments.
-Pablo
Album link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100102933841604.2457086.5321418&l=af47fedb0e&type=1
