Fiestas Patrias

Hello! It’s been a while since our last post so it’s time to get caught up. We have been pretty busy with Jo’s work, my classes, my work on my new record label, and last week’s fiestas patrias. The fiestas patrias are a week long celebration of Chile’s independence from Spain. The Chileans' national pride is pretty intense, and they pull out all the stops to show it with food, drinking, dancing, more food, more drinking and more food ….. and chicha (see glossary). These next few entries tell all about our experiences during the week long celebration.

Alright, the terminology is going to get a little thick, so here is a little fiestas patrias glossary to help get you started :-)

1. Anticuchos= a shish kabob of various types of meat and hot dog pieces which could be found on virtually every street corner throughout the week of the fiestas patrias.

2. Asado= BBQ, typically beef or pig (carne)

3. Carne= red meat

4. Chicha= Fermented grape alcohol, often homemade. Very sweet, cheap and dangerously potent. It has a reputation for sending unsuspecting gringos running to the bathroom.

5. Choripan= a sausage on a mini hoagie roll with pebre

6. Cueca= the national dance.

7. Ensalada= salad. The classic Chilean salad is tomato, onion and cilantro with vinegar and maybe some lemon. Other salads feature lettuce, avocado and apio (celery)

8. Huasos= Chilean cowboys

9. Mote con huesillo= The national desert. It’s a re-constituted peach in a bowl of peach juice and barley kernels. It’s a little hard to imagine but it’s surprisingly tasty.

10. Pollo= Chicken (a rarity at most of the fiestas patrias celebrations)

11. Pebre= A Chilean salsa with vinegar, onion, hot peppers (aji) and cilantro.

12. Ramadas= Outdoor booths covered with palm leaves, typically featuring asado, chicha and other types of alcoholic beverage, music and dancing.

13. Vino = Wine, Vino Casero- Home-made wine.

Part 1- "Marching & Dancing at the Liceo"

Last Wednesday Jo’s liceo put on a “desfile” (parade) featuring school marching bands, as well as students dressed up in the traditional “huaso” style.

These patterned dresses and huaso hats were everywhere during the past week, and the “cueca” dance was in full effect at any given moment. Here are a few pics from the cueca display at the Liceo on Friday. The cueca represents the courting of the gallina (chicken) by the gallo (rooster). We haven’t quite figured it out but it is fun to watch and it involves lots of boot stomping, spurs and frequent waving of panuelos (handkerchiefs).

Part 2- "Eat, Drink and be Merry" Saturday we attended an asado with a group of language teachers where we enjoyed an afternoon of BBQ, empanadas, vino and chicha, (and don’t forget the cueca) with a diverse group that included several gringos, a Chinese Mandarin teacher and translator, and several Chilean English teachers. Kite flying is very popular activity during the fiestas, here is a pic of our friend Luna flying the classic Chilean flag kite at the asado.

Tuesday we were invited to a family ramada featuring a typical Chilean asado, vino casero, choripan, ensaladas, carne, pollo (especially for us), and the national desert of choice mote con huesillo. We definitely ate our fill and enjoyed some great conversations with this very warm and friendly group.

Part 3- "Ramada madness" Tuesday night we decided to brave the massive ramadas in Valparaiso, a gigantic fair featuring stand upon stand of carne asado, choripan, empanadas, homemade chicha, terremoto (white wine with pineapple ice cream), colemono (coffee, milk and aguardiente), churros, rickety carnival rides, carnival games and lots of dust. Here are a few pics, the place was packed as you can see, and the dust and smoke made it tough to get good pictures but we managed to get a few.

This shows just how huge the place was, the lights in the background are the roller coasters.

200 pesos per cup of chicha is about 35 cents US. They were selling wine sized bottles for 500 pesos which is about a buck!

A typical scene at the Ramadas: choripan, anticuchos, empanadas etc... all for incredibly low prices.

We had a good time just wandering and people watching. We decided to avoid the booze and the rides but we did sample a cheese empanada and some yummy churros stuffed with manjar (similar to caramel). We opted to get out of there before things got really crazy. It was early by Chilean standards (9pm) and the place was already packed and the dust and smoke from the asados was really intense.

Part 4- "Eat, Eat and Eat Some More" - Wednesday was the final day of the fiestas and we were invited to head out to the countryside for a classic Chilean lunch with Jo’s "Chilean mom" and co-worker Laura, her husband Carlo and their daughter Daniela. Our destination, Quebrada Alvarado, is a small pueblo near Olmue, a farming and ranching community about an hour from Vina. Nestled in a valley between cactus-covered mountains and vineyards, the scenery made for a beautiful drive. The restaurant, “No Me Olvides” is famous for its rustic vibe and its cowboy-sized portions.


The meal started with a massive empanada and a highly potent pisco sour. Next came the ensaladas and entrees, WOAH!!!!! Huge portions of meat, potatoes and salads for everyone. Luckily for Jo and I they had a small amount of chicken on hand and they cooked it up especially for us. The dish pictured below with the eggs is “Lomo al Pobre.” I could hardly believe my eyes, 2 eggs, 2 pieces of steak, french fries and fried onion all for about $8.


Check out the piece of pork on Carlo’s plate. It’s as big as his arm!!!!!!


We also enjoyed white wine with cherimoya (a Chilean fruit) and finished off the meal with a tasty flan de lucuma (lucuma is another common fruit). We left stuffed to the gills and spent the remainder of the evening in bed at home trying to digest it all! Next time we are splitting that entree!


All in all it was a great week….. now off to the gym to work those extra kilos off!!!!