by Heather Frutig
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/feb/07/valparaiso-chile-culture-art-city
One of the main points for both my wife and I in this trip is to try different wines. Chile is famous for very good wines, cheese and beef, I want to try the very best wines paired with the best cheese and beef possible.
Below are some of the best rated wines available in Santiago:
1) Almaviva
This Chilean blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Camenere, and Cabernet Franc has had some very successful vintages. It hails from Chile’s Maipo valley.
2) Antiyal and Kuyen
Both of these Chilean wine blends by renown Chilean wine maker Alvaro Espinoza originate from Antiyal’s Maipo vineyard. For the last several years these two blends have been getting raves and high points from critics worldwide.
3) Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta
Vintages 2005 through 2009 have won plenty of praise. This Chilean red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenere, and Petit Verdot. In 2008, Wine Spectator magazine named the 2005 Clos Apalta, its Wine of the Year.
4) Concha y Toro Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon
Concha y Toro’s Don Melchor has consitently been rated one of Chile’s best wines. Year 2008 is currently available and well scored. This is a big and bold Cab from Chile’s Maipo Valley. Don Melchor has been one of Chile’s most highly awarded wines year after year.
5) Concha y Toro Terrunyo Cabernet Sauvignon
C&T has had several winning years with this wine. Here’s what Wine Enthusiast says about the 2005 vintage. “This pedigreed Chilean Cab settles with airing and soon shows exciting, fully ripe raspberry, cassis and blackberry flavors. The mouthfeel is perfectly cushioned yet intense, and the finish is ripe, smooth and composed.”
by Heather FrutigWhere Santiago is more business and government, Valpo, as the locals call it, is more laid-back. Home to artists, writers and musicians, it has an artistic vibe and ramshackle feel that creates “an ambience akin to a smaller, seaside, Latin version of Berlin.” This feeling permeates the many restaurants and galleries and spills out onto the steep streets where the street art is the show. Described as the cultural capital and graffiti capital of Chile, artists from around the world flock to Valparaiso because the art is embraced by locals. In fact, the best artists are usually paid for their work, which are usually intricate and complex. There is a touring company, Valpo Street Art Tours, which specializes in walking tours of the city's many pieces. I’m extremely excited to walk around and see the street art on display!
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2014/feb/07/valparaiso-chile-culture-art-city
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When a friend of mine got married a few years ago, I gave her and her new husband a framed copy of Pablo Neruda's Sonnet XVII. I like to think that this was "The Most Thoughtful And Awesome Wedding Gift Ever" because Sonnet XVIII is such a tear-jerker. (Note: the link above provides an English version of the poem, but I am sure it's best when read in its native Spanish.)
So, with this background in mind, I did a quick search about Neruda's homes, since I knew we would be close to one, possibly two of them (one is in Santiago, one is in Valparaiso, and the other is a few hours away on the coast), and it would be a great place to go when there's some free time in our itinerary. However, some other headlines also caught my eye: forensic scientists have been studying his remains to see if they can detect any signs of foul play. His remains were already exhumed and studied in 2013 for this purpose, but apparently, that was a more limited investigation than what has happened over the last year or so. Neruda died in a hospital in Santiago in 1973 shortly after the coup. He was a communist and supported the Marxist president, and while his friends were persecuted, tortured, and killed in the coup, Neruda was planning to leave Chile and bring international attention to Pinochet's dictatorship from elsewhere abroad. However, he was not a young man by this point, and also had cancer. Just before he was supposed to skip town, he had to go to the hospital due to his cancer complications, and died there, under what some consider to be very suspicious circumstances. People are clearly still interested in what may have actually happened to him, hence the investigations. Some friends and family members, including Neruda's driver, believe he was actually poisoned by the new regime while at the hospital. A government document circulated in a newspaper earlier last year wrote that a painkiller he was given while at the hospital lead to a cardiac arrest and his subsequent death. Investigations are ongoing. As most of us know by now the worlds most beloved game has been a victim to corruption and greed. The scandal started after Russia and Qatar won world cup bids for the 2018 and 2022 games. Since this 2010 decision investigations have taken place in suspicion of bribery to secure the bid selection. Investigations have found corruption reach the very top level of the executive committee of FIFA. The past few years have put a dark shadow over the sport with corruption allegations forcing even the president of FIFA to resign. As Indian Supreme Court Judge B.S. Chanuhan once said corruption is like a cancer if not caught early it will spread and destroy even the best of organization. Sadly the corruption within FIFA spread all corners of the world including Chile. Sergio Jadue former president of the Chilean FA and vice-president of CONMEBOL is facing a potential lifelong ban from soccer due to his guilty plea to racketeering and wire fraud. In November of 2015 Jadue came to America as an informant for the FBI in their case against FIFA. After coming to America Jadue went on record and plead guilty to his crimes that contributed to the 24 years of corruption within FIFA. Jadue has lost all the respect he once had within the soccer community and his countrymen in Chile. Just last week FIFAs Ethics Committee has agreed to move forward on a lifetime ban from the sport of soccer. Jadue has now etched himself into another dark part of Chiles soccer history. Hopefully with this case being so involved and effective FIFA will be able to change its image with new and honest leaders. Article: http://www.espnfc.us/blog/fifa/243/post/2810074/fifa-wants-luis-bedoya-and-sergio-jadue-banned-for-life The civil union law that was debated in Chile for over a decade and was finally passed last April went into effect on October 20, 2015. On this day, numerous same sex couples visited the civil registry offices to validate their civil unions. Some had gotten married abroad but their union was not being recognized by the Chilean law, up until then. The civil union law passing did not only grant same-sex couples but also unmarried partners the same rights as married ones. These rights include sharing a health insurance plan and pension benefits as well as inheriting property from one another. Gay citizens and advocates in Chile see the law as a step forward for full rights and to legalizing same-sex marriage (A recent poll shows that approximately one fourth of Chileans support same-sex marriage). It certainly is a good sign of change for Chile, which is known for being Latin America’s most socially conservative country. It was not until 1999 that homosexual sex was decriminalized in Chile. Also divorce was not legalized until 2004, making Chile one of the last countries in the world and the last country in the western hemisphere to legalize divorce. Abortion is illegal in all cases, which is something President Bachelet is trying to change against all opposition. _______________________________________________________________________________________
References: [1] “Chile's same-sex couples celebrate civil unions: 'History changes today” The Guardian.October 22 2015. Retrieved on February 27, 2016 from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/22/chiles-same-sex-couples-celebrate-civil-unions [2] “Hundreds of Chilean same-sex couples eagerly await legalization of civil unions” The Guardian. October 21 2015. Retrieved on February 27, 2016 from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/21/chile-same-sex-civil-unions-legal Travellers should be aware of thieves and pickpockets in any city throughout the world. Although we will have the relative safety of a large group and planned tours, always be aware and responsible for your belongings. Here are some common tricks used to relieve people of their money:
Sources Lonely Planet Travel Publisher, http://www.lonelyplanet.com/round-the-world-travel/best-of-round-the-world-travel/content/travel-tips-and-articles/77737 Embassy of the United States, http://france.usembassy.gov/pickpockets.html Have you ever asked yourself about Chile’s long and narrow shape? I have and found out that there are two main reasons for this: Colonial Expansions and Natural Boundaries. I will elaborate a bit on both of these aspects. Natural boundaries – Andes Let’s start with some background on Chile’s geography. Chile is located between the Andes mountains (east) and the Pacific Ocean (west). It’s average width along it’s long and narrow lands is 109 miles (that’s about the width of Puerto Rico). Despite its narrow shape, Chile is home to the highest mountains of the western hemisphere, the Andes. This mountain range runs along the border of Argentina and occupies close half of its Chile’s width. Colonial expansion Colonial expansion is the other reason that has given Chile its current shape. In the 16th century, Spanish colonists moved from Peru to Chile in search of gold. They colonized most of the coastal territory of Chile but got discouraged by the Andes mountains to continue expanding towards Chile’s eastern territories. In 1818, three centuries from this, Chile liberates itself from the Spaniards and starts to seek its own territories to conquer. Two main wars allowed Chile to expand its northern and southern borders: the war of the Pacific, where they fought Bolivia and Peru for expansion, and the war against the Mapuche and indigenous tribe who resided below the south border of Chile. Chile won both of these wars and gained valuable territory in each which has allowed them to become a successful South American country. References http://www.lonelyplanet.com/chile/history http://countrystudies.us/chile/5.htm http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2010/03/why_is_chile_so_long_and_skinny.html http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/content/dam/kids/photos/Countries/A-G/chile-map.jpg Roger Schoch Although wine is known as a chief export from Chile globally (especially to our class), they may be exporting something most people might not think about - electricity. Chile has the best solar electricity in Latin America and companies are bidding to develop the renewable energy sources available across the country. Argentina will hopefully be the first country to receive power from Chile and will help reduce the cost of electricity for citizens of both countries. To make this a reality, the power grid systems will need some upgrading, but this is still good news. Chile is also known for their mining industry and their exports of several minerals globally. Mining is generally a dirty industry and polutes the environment with carbon emissions and chemicals. The US relies on coal for the majority of the power in the country which is something we are slowly trying to change. Chile has a big advantage over most coutries with sunshine to make solar panels a serious option for power. Below is what clean energy looks like(Atacama-1 solar site): Hopefully, efforts like this will spread to other Latin American coutries to have clean energy and supply cheap resources to the people of these coutries. The same rays of sunshine that allow grapes for wine to grow are letting people in Chile turn their lights on!
http://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/green-energy-boom-leads-solar-companies-to-clean-up-at-chiles-energy-auction/ Following a country's etiquette is important if you are trying to blend in. As we all are getting ready to go to Chile, I thought it would be helpful to learn about Chilean Etiquette. As I started researching, I realized that certain things are very different in Chile compared to United States.
Here is the list of most common Chilean Etiquette:
I hope we all remember at least some of them and not completely weird! -Vrushti Patel http://www.ediplomat.com/np/cultural_etiquette/ce_cl.htm http://www.reachtoteachrecruiting.com/guides/chile/chilean-etiquette/ Back in 1995 a women in Puerto Rico was the first one to claim and see an something that no one has ever seen before, she report a bizarre bipedal alien-like creature with spikes down its back; creepy right? Stories kept going and going all around the Hispanic community about an animal, a human or maybe both? People says that this mysterious creature feeds himself with parts of the goats or chicken sucking out all the blood. Also, this creature is claim to go out and hunt during the night time only. I remember when I was a kid this myth was big in the Hispanic community. I have heard real stories of farm owners claiming that sometimes they heard weird loud noises like desperation loud noises during the night and in the morning a lot of animals were found dead eaten by something with almost no blood around. Not only in Puerto Rico but in all South America stories from this creepy creature was heard all over the news. Chile was one of the countries being attacked by El Chupacabra (the goatsucker). El Chupacabra was the name given to this creature, since it was known to suck all the blood from the animals leaving them almost dry. I have to admit that during nights I never went out from my house because I always was scared that this thing could be in front in me because in my childhood house we had tons of animals. For over a year more than 1,000 animals were found dead and more that hundred people claimed to see the goatsucker. Several years ago this creature started moving all around Latin America and this is when Chile comes up in scene. Chile farmers have claimed to eyewitness El Chupacabra and found dead animals like in Puerto Rico. This story was so big that National Geographic, Discovery Channel, The Daily and almost every big national news channel was talking about this. This kept years and years and nobody could catch El Chupacabra. Chilean people described this creature as an alien-alike, they said he could fly, he was faster than any animal, spikes in his back, big red eyes, and huge fangs. In January 2015, a Chilean wine farmer Javier Prohens found two strange dead bodies in his farm, he claimed that these bodies was from El Chupacabra. Javier said: 'At first we thought they might be bats, but when we looked closer, we realised they had to be something else as the heads were too big for bats. 'And then someone said they looked like Chupacabras' This story is still alive, but nobody has indicated to capture alive The Chupacabras. It is an alien? It is a bad experiment from the Government? It is some creature from the devil? It is a creature we have never studied before? The truth is that this is still a myth and there is not scientific evidence to support this legend as a fact. If you have never heard about this you better take this story serious and hope not to encounter with this creature during the nights we stay at Chile. Here are some pictures of the creature and I will post a brief documentary made by National Geographic about The Goatsucker. Reference:
http://news.discovery.com/human/psychology/farmer-in-chile-finds-chupacabra-probably-a-cat-mummy-150124.htm http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2921521/Farmer-says-remains-two-mysterious-Chupacabra-creatures-stumbling-bizarre-looking-dead-animals-Chile.html http://www.phantomsandmonsters.com/2014/02/archive-spring-2000-chile-el.html As part of my last semester at Weatherhead apart from the “International Institute – Trip to Chile” I am taking another class with Professor Goldberg which is titled ‘Entrepreneurial Finance’. During that class we studied a lot of startups that have come out of Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University. We have studied how the State of Ohio is helping startups through its “Ohio Third Frontier” program. Hence I was inclined to learn more about “Start-up Chile”. Start-up Chile is a program started by the Chilean government that attracts early stage, high potential entrepreneurs to bootstrap their startups using Chile as a platform to go global. The end goal of this program is to position Chile as the innovation and entrepreneurship hub of Latin America. The main difference between Ohio Third Frontier program and Start-up Chile is the equity-free funding and the benefits from immigration policies. The startups are chosen from around the world and are given equity free funding, one year temporary visa, office space and opportunities for mentoring and coaching. In my opinion the equity free funding to that many startups and the fact that anyone from anywhere in the world can apply for the program are the two biggest advantages. The interesting aspect of this model that I would like to explore during my trip is how long can this model be sustained. Jumpstart’s evergreen model ensures that the money is reinvested into sponsoring future startups. 1200 startups from 72 countries have graduated from Start-up Chile’s accelerator program till now and have raised over $100 million USD and created more than 1500 jobs. I am excited to learn more about the program during our session on March 9th. The following article highlighted the achievements and challenges of this program and was an interesting read. http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/techtank/posts/2015/08/19-startup-chile-chilecon-valley by Charlotte Gouveia NetoSource: http://santiagotourist.com/30-things-to-do-when-visiting-santiago-chile/
Many of us will be arriving early or staying a few days later than the scheduled class trip. Beyond the start-up scene and first hand winery experience, a couple websites suggest additional things to check out. Some notable attractions that I did not think of prior to reading the article include:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gracebanks/2016/02/05/this-chilean-startup-wants-to-change-the-way-latin-america-shops-for-food/#30463f5273a1
I came across this article while researching more about Chile and it really interested me because of how unique this startup company is and that it has the possibility to be make such a positive change. Algramo is using vending machines to lower food costs by selling food to customers without as much packaging, promotion, and other costs that the grocery stores have to pay to sell the products and then pass on to customers. I was really struck by this article because food shortages and people going hungry is a global problem so it was really interesting to read about people in Chile are combatting these types of problems. This unique business idea really struck me as innovative because it took existing technology and applied it to solve a problem. They did not have to reinvent the wheel to be entrepreneurs or create social change. The potential social good that this company can achieve is really exciting and interesting to me especially because I spent some time visiting a poor area outside of Guayaquil, Ecuador a few years ago and I know that this type of machine would make a huge difference to that community where families struggled to buy food and many other basic goods. Hopefully Algramo can continue to grow and provide more access to food to lower income communities in order to combat poverty and hunger. Taylor Abulaban I found a report online by KPMG that has various articles about different industries in Chile. The article I chose to discuss is called ‘Food Power’. Clearly, it is about the food industry in Chile, which is one of the most dynamic sectors of the country’s economy, representing 24% of its GDP. Exports of food from Chile have grown at an average rate of 10% per year for the past ten years. This makes the country the world’s fastest growing food exporter. Food exports have grown from $5 billion worth in 2002 to $11.6 billion worth in 2010. Representing about 20% of Chile’s workforce, the food industry employs about one million people in the country. Chile is a leading producer and exporter of some of the world’s finest fruits, berries, vegetables, fish, shellfish, poultry, meats, and premium wines. Chile provides about 174 countries with premium fresh and processed food products. There are four important advantages that have contributed to Chile’s prodigious food production. First, Chile is 4,300 kilometers long and very narrow, creating a diverse geography and ideal climate range and soils that are suitable for growing a wide range of foods. Second, as a southern-hemisphere country, Chile has off-season production; this means that its produce does not compete with American or European produce during their peak seasons. Third, the country is surrounded by natural barriers of ocean, desert, high mountains, and glaciers that have protected the meat and poultry industries from being affected by parasites and diseases common to many other countries. Finally, Chile has a network of trading arrangements with about 58 countries meaning Chilean producers have access to markets that represent almost half of the world’s population. https://www.kpmg.com/CL/es/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/redirect/2012-01-kpmg-doing-business-in-chile.pdf By Zhen Huang I know that we are going to visit famous cities and try great wines in Chile, but I have no idea what food I will be able to try in Chile. In order to make this trip more exciting, I cannot help looking into the food culture in Chile. Because of Chile’s long coast seafood is the main ingredient of its many dishes, mostly in the center and the south of the country. Local crops are the staple of each regional cuisine which have been prepared for thousands of years by native Indians before the Spanish arrived. Among the most important agricultural crops are maize also known as choclo, quinoa and potatoes. Among fruits lucuma and chirimoya, both native of Peru, and murtilla, endemic to Chile, are among those widely used in desserts. Among the most popular and widespread typical dishes of Chile are: Empanada is a stuffed pastry made by folding a round shaped dough around the stuffing forming a half moon or they can be folded in a square shape. Empanadas can be baked or fried and stuffed with a variety of fillings. In Chile there are three basic varieties: empanada de mariscos or seafood empanada, empanada de queso or cheese empanada and the most popular one is empanada de pino. Pino is a mixture of ground beef, onions, raisins, black olives and hard boiled eggs. Pastel de choclo is one of the most popular comfort foods in Chile. This dish is made of ground corn or choclomixed with ground beef, chicken, onions, black olives, pieces of hard boiled eggs and spices and covered with a corn dough that crusts when baked. It is traditionally baked in a an earthenware bowl called paila Curanto is a traditional food of Chiloe Archipelago and popular in the south of Chile. This dish consists of shellfish, fish, cuts of beef, chorizo, potatoes, vegetables and chapaleles, a kind of dumpling made from boiled potatoes and flour. It is accompanied by potato bread called milcaos. According to archaeologists who found a 6,000 year old curanto dish in Puento Quilo, curanto might be one of the oldest food dishes in the world. Caldillo de Congrio was immortalized by Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda in his “Oda al Caldillo de Congrio”. This dish is a hearty soup made of conger, a type of eel, potato, carrots, cilantro, onion and garlic served with marinated boiled or fried conger. It is a classic soup of the Chilean coast.
Now we not only have the instructions of Chilean wines, but also get the ideas for what are we supposed to order in a Chilean restaurant. I hope everyone has a great trip! I've carried around the book Eva Luna for about 10 years. I've admittedly never read it the whole way through, but it's been a comfort whenever I needed to see the beautiful Spanish language on paper and hear it resonate in my mind. I've been working through it more feverishly before the trip to Chile to get a better feel for the culture. I had always known that the author, Isabel Allende, had been in someway related to the military coup, but I had never looked into it. I did today and found out that it was her cousin who was Chile's president at the time and died in the coup. She remained in Chile to aid victims of the brutal new regime until she found her safety in jeopardy and moved to Venezuela.
Eva Luna is beautifully written and a fantastical story that takes you on the adventures of a young woman wandering her world. When researching this blog post, I found a TED Talk by Isabel Allende that is replete with equal parts humor and sorrow. It quickly becomes clear that this woman has seen both in her own life. She tells tales of women around the world, our "sisters," who have no control over their lives or bodies. You can hear the depth of compassion in her voice and recognize that she has seen first hand this abuse of power - the abuse that was prominent during the dictatorship. What to do in the face of such sorrow? She focuses on passion. She says that, "heart is what drives us and determines our fate." She begs us to imagine what kind of world we want and to make it so. Instead of looking to make the world better, how can we make the world "good," so that the "quality of life is enriched for everybody." Isabel Allende's TED talk is wonderful and highly recommended to see a passion born and bred in Chile. Do you know what is the national sport of Chile? The answer is Football or Soccer. Well, that is false. In 1962, rodeo was declared the national sport of Chile. Although, Football is the most popular, Rodeo is the second most popular sport in the country. "Huaso" aka Cowboy are the national icon of Chile. Unlike seasonal sports in the U.S, Chilean rodeo is year-around. The major events usually take place between September through April. Chilean rodeo is different from other rodeos. When we think of a rodeo, we think of Cowboys riding a bull for as long as they can or typically 8 seconds is the ideal mark. But there are no bulls involved in Chilean rodeo. The main objective in Chilean rodeo is to pin a cow against the wall. So, two Huaso on horses pair up to accomplish this task. The more efficiently two Huaso are able to pin a cow, the more points they will score. Although, seem less exciting or possibly boring, it actually requires more skill to participate in the Chilean Rodeo. This is because Huaso have to not only control the cow but they also have to control/maneuver the horses as well. Also, the chemistry between the two Huaso is critically important to work together in order to pin the cow. The horses used are specially breed and trained. Here is a fun fact - the horses are capable of running sideways after proper training. Rodeo in Chilean has traditionally been a countryside sport for elite farmers. Only doctors, lawyers, bankers were the once where involved. However, the sport is becoming more inclusive and a diverse set of fanatics are able to enjoy the sport. Traditionally, it's been a male dominated sport. However, recently, the first female Huaso competed in a rodeo. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/sports/in-chile-rodeo-rules-the-land.html?_r=0 http://www.southamerica.cl/Chile/Sport/Rodeos.htm One of my favorite aspects of travelling, for work or pleasure, is discovering the local foods. I don't know much, anything really, about Chilean food, so this should be a wonderful trip as far as new foods goes.
I found a couple of interesting articles about the food scene in Chile - below are my takeaways: Foods & Spices 1. Pastel del Choclo - Chile's version of Shepherd's Pie, it's becoming upscale soul food in Chile. Beef, Chicken, egg, corn, raisins, onions in an earthenware pot. We should give this a shot. 2. Merken - a local spice blend of smoked peppers, salt, cumin, and coriander. 3. Seafood - Sea bass, mussels, scallops, ceviche http://www.foodrepublic.com/2012/04/12/24-hours-to-eat-in-santiago-chile/ Restaurants - Santiago has a bustling restaurant & bar scene, with many of the best rtestaurants focusing on locally sourced food and drinks. Some of the better restaurants located near our hotel: 1. El Huerto - a vegetarian restaurant in Chile! Just a couple of blocks from our hotel. 2. Don Victorino - sounds amazing - it's in an antique house. 3. El Diablito - this is supposedly a hip place to have a few drinks. Near the Parque Forestal. These last two spots are accessible off the Baquedano or Universidad Catolica metro stops. Our hotel is near the Pedro Valdivia stop. http://theculturetrip.com/south-america/chile/articles/10-best-cultural-restaurants-in-santiago-the-rhythms-of-chilean-cuisine/ http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304757004579332721243547790 Beer & Spirits - Chile isn't only about wine. Chile also makes some pretty great beer and has a national spirit. Perhaps the most popular Chilean drink is the Pisco Sour - Pisco, lemon juice, egg white and sugar. Pisco is essentially a Peruvian/Chilean Brandy and has become popular in the states over the past 10 years. Cerveza - Chile has between 120 - 150 active microbreweries. In Santiago, the first place to check would probably be the Cerveceria Nacional. It's a couple of stopss further West than the restaurants above, but it should be pretty accessible. Chileans are reportedly not on the hoppy beer bandwagon, which is just fine with me. Their beers should be a bit more subtle, and complex than the typical American sledgehammer IPA's. http://cervecerianacional.cl/ http://draftmag.com/chiles-new-craft/ I'm super excited to explore this city and I love navigating subway systems. So, here's a bit about public transportation in Santiago - Our hotel is on Line 1, and heading West, Lines 1 & Line 5 get us to the neighborhoods with these restaurants. We can change at the Baquedano stop to line 5 to get to the brewery. Here's a Wikipedia about the metro, and it's site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_Metro https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.metrosantiago.cl/&prev=search It's going to be fun Interesting to see how south American countries, while all having Spanish and Portugese heritages, seem to dress up in terms of folkloric attire.
For men, the main chest piece/robe is called a "Chamanto" which is basically a type of poncho, made of wool, but the interesting design is that it is worn both side! It is reversible, a dark color to be worn during the day and then reversed to the light color side for night time! For women, they wear what is called a "Pollera Skirt" which is a long colorful fabric that has many underskirt garments and wear a blouse with ruffles and jewelry on their chest. However, in the south of Chile, the traditional outfits are close to the Argentinians, where they wear "gauchos", normally worn by huasos and huasas which are the Chilean version of cowboys and cowgirls. The gauchos are large pants that wave while moving, they cover the legs without being tight except at the belt level. It is the main traditional clothing of Argentina. Nowadays the folkloric dresses of Chile are mainly used in artistic performances as well as dances and some bull-games and shows. Some of the remote villages in the south still have gauchos. The folkloric clothes of a country tells a lot about its people, and for Chile, it shows a lively country with a spirit of fun, dance, and family attachment as described by its natives. So as I have been getting ready for our trip which is just a bit over 1 week away (!!) I have been doing some research about things to see during our time in Santiago. One thing I did learn while doing some research about Chile is that Easter Island is part of Chile. Maybe this is common knowledge to most people, but I had no clue. But that knowledge will not do us much good while we are in Santiago so I skipped that article and looked for something more relevant to our trip. I came across the following article from CNN.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/29/travel/insider-guide-santiago/ There are definitely some interesting things on the list and I recommend everyone give it a quick scan. I am definitely interested in the restaurant and bar options in the area. There looks to be a ton of great seafood options and it calls out an area - Nuevo Costanera - that sounds like it has a lot of good places. A couple other interesting places that definitely seem like they will be worth checking out are the Plaza de Armas and the Parque Metropolitano. The Plaza is pretty much the city center area where there is a lot going on. Different restaurants and shops to see. The Parque sounds like an amazing place that is up a hill and offers fantastic views of the city and the mountains on a clear day. I definitely want to find time to visit! If anyone else has found some good articles on Chile, post them in the comments. I am always looking for another great place to find on our trip! “Necessity is the mother of invention” – English Proverb Running along the majority of the South American western coast, Chile sits at the edge of the South American tectonic plate. Slowly moving west, this plate is constantly pushing against the Nazca plate moving east. This has resulted in large build-ups of energy causing the surrounding area to be a hot bed for earthquakes with 159 being recorded in the past 30 days alone. While most of these are so minor that they are barely felt, it is the large quakes that are most concerning due to the damage they cause and the loss of life. Listing all 39 of the world’s earthquakes above a magnitude of 8.5, 12 had occurred in Chile. The most powerful occurred near the city of Valdivia in 1960 at a magnitude of 9.5, making it the largest in recorded history. With this danger constantly looming in the background, the Chilean government has implemented some of the strictest building codes in the world. To meet this challenge, architects and engineers have worked together to develop the latest technologies to help structures absorb the shock while also protecting the people inside.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_American_Plate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_earthquakes#Strongest_earthquakes_by_magnitude http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/earthquakes/chile.html http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/02/world/americas/chile-earthquake/ http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/02/world/americas/chile-earthquake/ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-01-03/chilean-engineer-s-designs-help-santiago-s-skyscrapers-endure-earthquakes http://sirve.cl/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanium_La_Portada We don't really hear too much about how the "BRIC" nations will be a major source of world economic growth these days, particularly when it comes to Brazil. I think the case of Brazil is an interesting one in that 5-6 years ago the country was seeing significant GDP growth with bright prospects for the future. Today, the country's economy has stalled thanks to a number of factors, including substantial public sector corruption. [1]
The acclaimed and socially engaged Chilean Architect Alejandro Aravena has been awarded the 2016 Pritzker prize, the highest accolade in architecture. He came to the attention of the selection committee after he elegantly devised a solution to rehouse 100 families with a tight budget of only US$7,500 per family which was no where near enough money to buy the necessary land and build new homes. In answer to this challenge, Alejandro stated “Why not build everyone half a good house – and let them finish the rest themselves” and this is exactly what he did. Building a basic concrete frame, complete with a kitchen, bathroom and roof he left the rest of the construction up to the families allowing them to take full ownership of their new homes. This project not only allowed dozens of families to remain together but also gave them a financial investment as the value of their homes and property have now increased five-fold. This same model has been rolled out in various cities around Chile and Mexico, improving the lives or over 2,500 families.
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