ilc weekly news: march 19th 2012
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I Love Chile's weekly digital newspaper.TRANSCRIPT
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ILC WEEKLYNEWSEnglish in Chile / Chile in English
Argentina’s President Cristina Fernández in Chile
British Minister Jeremy Brown in Chile
Protests in Aysén
New School Year, Renewed Student Protests
Rising food and gas prices
Soltera in Santiago
Weekly Digital VersionEdition 2March 2012Price $500
ILC WEEKLYLocal
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I Love Chile Group Ltd.
Copyright © I Love Chile Newspaper Limited 2012. All rights reserved.
Loreto 6 -‐ Of 2 -‐ BellavistaOffice Chile: +56 (02)979-‐1009 Office USA: 518-‐632-‐4199General Inquires: [email protected] AdverTsing: [email protected]
ILCDIGITAL STAFF
PublisherDaniel H. Brewington
EditorsMaX NinerDaniel Boyle
Managing EditorPamela Lagos
Travel EditorJonathan Franklin
Director, Sales & MarkeCngMay Ipinza
JournalistsKiki LenihanSandro Aravena PerezDaniel BoyleJose Miguel Galdames AlvarezMaX NinerPaul ColemanDebora GastalDarren KaiserLaura & Ryan SeelauMarcial DiazDeborah KunkelPepe RawlinsonSoltera in SanTago
Tourist Tips
Feel like having a quick snack during one of your sightseeing days in SanCago? Don’t worry – you won’t have to look far. Everywhere in SanCago you will see street vendors selling something called sopaipillas which you can afford even if you are on a very Tght budget.
Depending on which part of South or Central America you are in, there are different recipes for sopaipillas, but the Chilean version is a type of fried bread or pastry made from dough with zapallo – Chilean pumpkin, which gives them a light orange color.
Buying a sopaipilla from a street vendor is quite an experience, because you actually see them prepare it in front of you. The dough is formed into a flat, round shape and then fried right then and there. Most likely, the vendor will have already shaped the dough to make things go faster, though. Sopaipillas are typically served with mustard, ketchup or the Chilean salsa pebre, but you will also see other types of sauces.
If you are lucky enough to be invited in for sopaipillas in a Chilean home, you should definitely take the offer, but don’t be surprised if you are served a different type of sopaipillas than those in the street. The basic idea is the same, but instead of eaTng the pastries with spicy sauces, Chileans oken eat them with chancaca – a sweet sugar sauce with a taste of orange peel. If prepared this way, they will be called sopaipillas pasadas.
TradiTonally, these are a treat eaten by Chileans on rainy days, but now you can buy them anywhere whenever you want. At subway staTons, you will oken see people eat one in the morning while rushing to work or school, or just having one as a quick snack between meals.
This simple but delicious snack is such a typical Chilean thing that you should not cheat yourself from trying one – even if it doesn’t rain while you are in SanCago.
Sopaipillas: cheap and tasty chilean snackby Hostel&Tours
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Flood in Punta ArenasRainfall in Southern Chile has caused widespread flooding in many parts. ONEMI has declared that the Magallanes province is in a “red alert” state aker mulTple heavy rainfalls. Minister of Labor, Evelyn MaXhei, traveled to Punta Arenas Monday akernoon to asset the situaTon. The rain has already affected over 800 people. The school Pedro Pablo Lemaitre is allowing those who have lost their houses or been evacuated to stay within the school unTl other arrangements are made. According to the Emergency Office of Punta Arenas, the last Tme the river acted in this way was in 1991, but the rainfall in the past 24 hours is already twice as much as that year. In the past 24 hours, over 100 millimeters of rainfall has been measured, which is usually 25 % of annual rainfall.
The mayor of the southern city, Vladimiro Mimica, told Chilean newspaper La Tercera that “the Las Minas river overflowed in the downtown area of the city.” The river, which passes through the center of the city, is deeply concerning neighbors and authoriTes right now because of the heavy rainfall affecTng the area. Mayor Mimica also stated, “We are meeTng with Mayor Arturo Storaker, regional Onemi, and the Armed Forces to see which acTons we should take.” ONEMI also noted that throughout the course of the day there have been many electricity outages, which has affected about 5,000 people in the Barrios Prat, Manuel Chaparro and Almirantazgo. Sadly, 21-‐year-‐old Felipe Álvarez GuTérrez fell into the flooded river on Monday and has been pronounced dead. He is currently the only fatality of the flood.
Santiago Feels the HeatThe temperature in SanTago hit an all Tme high today, reaching 35º Celsius (about 95º Fahrenheit). This is the hoXest it has ever been in the month of March. At four o’clock in the akernoon, thermometers reached 35º Celisus and it was expected to get even hoXer between four and five. According to meteorologist Edita Amador, the hoXest temperature in March was previously 34.6º so Wednesday March 14th surpassed that by about 0.4º Celsius (about 98º Fahrenheit). Experts claim that these high temperatures are somewhat normal and are produced by high pressure and the La Nina Phenomenon.
ILC Weekly News BriefWritten by Kiki Lenihan
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Bob Dylan will return to ChileAs a result of his new schedule in ArgenTna, the legendary singer and songwriter Bob Dylan will be performing on May 2 when he once again returns to Chile.
Dylan iniTally postponed his first show, which was scheduled to be on April 30th at Movistar Arena, for a couple of days in order to extend his tour of ArgenTna. His promoTons company has confirmed that the venue will not change.
The May show will mark the third Tme Dylan has visited Chile, who first brought his music to the country in 1998, and then again in 2008. This Tme, he will be playing the Movistar Arena show as part of “The Never-‐ending Tour”.
Administrator of cuevana.tv in Chile arrestedOfficers of the InternaTonal Police Department (PDI) have arrested the Chilean administer of the web site Cuevana, who has been accused of copyright infringement for uploading numerous movies onto the site for free downloading by the general public.
The site’s administrator has been idenTfied as CrisTán Álvarez Rojas, a 26-‐year-‐old master’s degree candidate at Universidad Católica. He has an undergraduate degree in art from the University of Chile and has been under invesTgaTon since January by police and prosecutors.
Deputy Roberto Villarroel of the Federal Bureau of InvesTgaTon of Crimes Against Intellectual Property (Bridepi), explained that the inquiry was iniTated following a complaint made by representaTves of HBO in Chile and held in conjuncTon with the police in ArgenTna. ILC
ILC Weekly News Brief
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SANTIAGO – Violins as background music and about 250 guests –among whom were former presidents of Chile and the CEO of LAN, Ignacio Cueto – arrived today to La Moneda for a welcoming dinner to be offered by President SebasTan Piñera to his ArgenTnean counterpart, CrisTna Fernández.
The trans-‐Andean head of state will land today, at 7pm, in SanTago, for a 2-‐day-‐long visit. At 11:45 in the morning she will head to the NaTonal Palace, La Moneda, to meet Piñera.
It is Fernández’s first trip abroad since beginning her new presidency back in December. It is also the first one aker having gone through surgery back in January due to thyroid cancer. As a maXer of fact, this medical intervenTon forced her to postpone the original date of the trip, which was planned to happen at the end of January. Currently, CrisTna K’s visit happens in the middle of a conflict with the UK over the control of the Falkland Islands, aker the commemoraTon of 30 years since the conflict ended.
Thus, during the past couple of days, the two State Departments have negoTated a joint declaraTon including this topic. This will be announced aker tomorrow’s meeTng in a ceremony in which press quesTons will not be accepted.
According to diplomaTc sources, the text only covers the tradiTonal Chilean support for the ArgenTnean claim over the islands, and the need to resolve this conflict through a bilateral negoTaTon.
The declaraTon will also address a thank-‐you note from Buenos Aires to Chile, because of the laXer’s decision in December of joining Mercosur in blocking the access to ports in the islands of ships with the English flag. London expressed its discontent with La Moneda.
The same sources explain that Buenos Aires opted for not repeaTng the warning that Fernández made in September: blocking ArgenTnean airspace for LAN flights from Punta Arenas to the Falkland Islands.
The above warning triggered worries in Chile, since London was puyng pressure on other countries in the region to not support a “blockade” of the area. As a maXer of fact, the Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alfredo Moreno, met with BriTsh Minister Jeremy Browne, who insisted on not “isolaTng” the Falkland Islands’ populaTon.
Nevertheless, according to some diplomaTc circles, the analysis in Buenos Aires pointed at the fact that blocking LAN fights would be more costly than beneficial. Furthermore, they would not find support in La Moneda. Within this context, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs trusts that Fernández will decide to not take the issue any further.
Both heads of state will seek to emphasize advances in infrastructure and connecTvity, although President Piñera will also express his condemnaTon of the asylum granted by ArgenTna to Galvarino Apablaza, who is wanted in SanTago for the murder of Jaime Guzman. ILC
Argentina’s President Cristina Fernández in Chile”
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Written by Sandro Aravena Perez
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SANTIAGO – As part of his South American tour, Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne was invited to tour the faciliTes of Chile’s Olympic training center, the Centro de Entrenamiento Olímpico de Chile (CEO). He was accompanied on the tour by Chilean Olympic CommiXee president Neven Ilic. The minister and a group of media toured the faciliTes where various young athletes were training.
As the party walked between training areas for a wide range of sports, the minister chaXed with the media and members of the Chilean sporTng fraternity. The facility provides a training center for a variety of sports and each room we visited was buzzing with acTvity. Some of the sports
included basketball, volleyball, handball, table tennis, judo and taekwondo, as well as the strength and condiToning faciliTes.
In the table tennis training facility, the minister, who is responsible both for South America and LaTn America as well as promoTon of the Olympics and Paralympics picked up a bat and took to the table. Chile has a number of players qualified in table tennis for both the Olympics and Paralympics, including Berta Rodriguez, who will make her fourth Olympic appearance.
While the minister menToned to ILC News that he is a big sports fan, he said his sporTng days are mainly behind him. “I’m geyng a bit old I
British Minister Jeremy Browne visits Chile’s Olympic hopefulsWritten by Daniel Boyle
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think, you know someTmes I go running.” Aker facing one of Chile’s Paralympic table tennis compeTtors, the minister admiXed “my illusions of one day compeTng at the Olympics are gone.”
During the tour Minister Browne also discussed other sporTng maXers, expressing concern for the relegaTon of his beloved Queens Park Rangers from the English Premier League and commenTng on the English rivalry with other countries. “In every sport, beaTng Australia is imperaTve. ParTcularly in cricket, that is one of the most important goals in English sport.”
Aker taking on the table tennis challenge wearing a shirt to promote the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the minister resisted taking on Chile’s hopefuls in Judo, instead looking on as two young men threw each other to the ground with a range of grappling techniques. The BriTsh minister also resisted taking on any of the Taekowndo athletes, who scream loudly with every kick and punch in order to inTmidate their opponents.
Minister Jeremy Browne was also able to open a plaque showing support from the BriTsh government for an extension to the training faciliTes. The new faciliTes will provide faciliTes especially for athletes with a disability and is being built in conjuncTon with Universidad Santo Tómas. The minister emphasized throughout the tour that he expects London will
be the strongest Paralympic event to date. “The Olympics are always a great event, but I believe this will be the best Paralympics ever” Minister Browne said. “There will be live television coverage of the whole event and millions of Tckets have been sold already.”
The minister was greeted by some of Chile’s hopefuls for the Olympics and Paralympics. Neven Ilic has said he expects the team to grow to almost thirty, with seventeen athletes qualified. SanTago will host the 2014 South American Games and is in the process of bidding for the 2019 Pan American Games.
The visit to the sports facility was part of a quick South American tour which will also include Peru and Colombia. The visit precedes the visit from ArgenTna’s President ChrisTna Kirchner who arrives tomorrow, Thursday March 15th. Aside from promoTng the Olympic Games, Minister Browne also visited Finance Minister Felipe Larráin and Foreign Minister Alfredo Moreno as well as the Defense Ministry. Minister Browne felt the earth move at the Defense Ministry, a temblor measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale, which went unnoTced by the Chileans, however was felt by a number of the BriTsh touring party. ILC
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SANTIAGO – Aker the approval of a new educaTon subsidy by Chile’s EducaTon CommiXee, Rodrigo Gonzalez has accused the majority party depuTes of “acTng as government puppets”. The new subsidies will give extra support to private and subsidized schools rather than to public schools.
The PPD Deputy González, a member of the CommiXee on EducaTon in the Chamber of DepuTes, was indignant about the approval of the new school subsidy program sent by the government. The decision was taken by 7 votes to 6. He believed the government was ignoring the needs of Chileans and moving on their own agenda.
“The educaTon commiXee is a farce, it has become a place where projects sent by the execuTve power are already accepted and then they are approved by a fake ballot, not allowing a real deep debate about the projects. Every Tme this happens, the Congress loses legiTmacy and its capacity to address social needs, because in the commiXee issues are discussed behind the backs of Chileans”, said the Deputy for Viña del Mar and Con Con.
“The government proposes a minimum increase of 3.5% on the normal subsidy, which is the key subsidy, and an increase on the SEP (PreferenTal School Subsidy) and pre-‐basic educaTon. The government is laughing at us, they do not realize the needs that educaTon has, which are completely different to the financing for public educaTon in all countries around the world. [It is] discriminatory and segregaTng in comparison to private-‐subsided educaTon, which receives double that amount even though it has seven Tmes more resources per student,” he said.
“There is no real will for saving public educaTon,” the Deputy added. “It is suffering from a terminal crisis. The former government
did not have the courage to solve the students’ demands and neither does the current one.”
Gonzalez proposed that the EducaTon Minister form a commiXee, formed by parliamentarians, municipaliTes and social actors in order to create and approve, urgently, a rescue package for public educaTon within 30 days.
“It seems the government wants to let public educaTon die, not giving it the resources or taking the measures for it to maintain afloat. The government should take advantage of this and get everybody together to try to solve one of the most important problems in our society,” the Deputy said.
On the parliamentarians’ behavior, Gonzalez claimed the following, “The majority-‐party depuTes are like puppets. The commiXee does not have the bravery to recognize and act according to the real situaTon on public educaTon. If a real naTonal rescue package is not developed, with the parTcipaTon of all poliTcal and social actors, public educaTon is going to die”.
Now that the school year has returned, students are expected to once again take to the the streets in protest, while former Pink Floyd singer Roger Waters said he was “shocked” aker a meeTng with President SebasTán Piñera. ILC
Opposition Deputy Gonzalez: Chile Education Committee is a farceWritten by José Miguel Galdames Álvarez
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SANTIAGO – Minister of TransportaTon and TelecommunicaTons, Pedro Pablo Errázuriz, denied a halTng of buses at troncal 1 of the TransanTago, assuring commuters from the OperaTve Unit of Transit Control (Uoct) that “there is no paralysis of TransanTago buses effecTng users, and in the case of protests we have a conTngency plan to saTsfy the needs of passengers”.
“Things are normal,” said the secretary, “the buses are circling the city, and I want to send a message of tranquility to our users. The companies are sTll providing services.”
The Minister later warned that some drivers may take this opportunity to make a poliTcal power-‐grab. “We have to be aXenTve, we need to be concerned,” he said.
The ministers comments came aker workers at troncal 1 announced that they would have a “sit-‐down” beginning at 5:00 today, which would potenTally affect around 400,000 users.
For his part, the syndicate director of troncal 1, José Urbina, said that, “the minister of TransportaTon always says something benign,
but if he were actually here he would know that the situaTon is not normal and that the sit-‐down is going to put us at 50% funcTonality.” Urbina suggested that services would only be running at half capacity along lines 103, 106, 107, 108, 120 and 126.
The coordinator of TransanTago, Patricio Pérez told Chilean TV staTon 24 Horas that the mobilizaTon would only affect for sure line 126, which would be running around 20 minutes behind schedule.
Officials at troncal 4 who were striking yesterday have returned to work pending a meeTng with the company Express SanTago, scheduled for 17:00 hours.
The TransanTago recently had its fikh anniversary, and sTll remains a heated issue in Chile. Many ciTzens have oken expressed their dissaTsfacTon with the service, while complaining that the price conTnues to rise with liXle improvement in the service itself. It remains one of the most difficult issues facing the government today.
Minister of Transportation: “The buses have not stopped”Written by Matt Niner
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AYSÉN – Last night I felt like I was back in a war zone for the first Tme since being in Sarajevo during its three-‐year siege. It wasn’t that I was being shot at or bombed – I was actually siyng in my neighbors galpón, watching him stoke the fire for the evening’s lamb asado with my wife Konomi and our visiTng American friend, MaX.
The volume of the radio was suddenly turned up. I thought it was a live football match being broadcast by Radio Santa Maria, the only staTon in Aysén with the power to reach from Coyhaique to La Junta where we live.
I looked to my friend, usually a happy, sensiTve guy of simple wisdom whose wild hair and moustache reminds me of Albert Einstein mixed with a walrus. He looked extremely concerned. The live broadcast was coming from the streets of Coyhaique, where a baXle was taking place between government forces and the protestors of Aysen’s “Tu Problema Es Mi Problema” civil
movement. Obviously, the talks had truly broken down.
The screams and the shouts were people being injured from a baXle featuring tear gas, rubber bullets, pellets and rocks. The reporter was right in the middle of it all and the echoes of the confrontaTon reverberated into our peaceful world. Our friends have family in Puerto Aysén and Coyhaique, and concern for them was wriXen on their faces. A later broadcast told the story how thirty special forces members from SanTago were pinned down by over eight hundred demonstrators. Our friend exclaimed that there is no love for these forces from SanTago since people think they have been picked for their “cold aytude”.
What would tomorrow hold?
As of this moment, the barricades have not returned to block the Carretera Austral as it
Battle in Coyhaique between government forces and Aysén civil movementWritten by Paul Coleman
Protests in Aysén
passes through La Junta, but how long this will last I do not know. Fuel has just started to return to the neighborhood, but the wise will be stocking up today and we will be buying more supplies.
While the fire roasted the lamb, last night our friend’s wife told us, “Most of the people in the region earn money day by day, and they haven’t worked for weeks. They have no money to buy food. The Catholic Church is feeding them.”
This statement rings true since the Bishop Of Aysen, Msgr Luis InfanT, has been standing with the movement since day one and behind him now stands the ConfederaTon of the Religious in Chile. Behind them all is the VaTcan, who is spreading the Bishops words through their press agency. This support also extends to broadcasTng events like the ones that took place last night in Coyhaique on Radio Santa Maria and Canal 13, the Catholic TV staTon.
Meanwhile, locals report that TVN has stopped broadcasTng any news in the region regarding the protests and express concern that internet service may soon be blocked… and their side of the story will be shut down. Thanks to the internet, news is beginning to filter out to the rest of the world regarding events last night. One English-‐language news blog featured the headlines: ‘Patagonian pandemonium as Chilean townspeople burn barricades’, along with videos
that show protesters on the streets of Coyhaique preparing for a confrontaTon.
On that same blog there appears a photograph that shows one of the key leaders of the protests, Ivan Fuentes, the man who has so oken called for peaceful negoTaTons, about to throw a rock at, presumably, government forces. Meanwhile, Reuters news service has a video featuring a badly beaten man who claims to have been aXacked by four policemen who burst into his home in Coyhaique.
In another interesTng development, the Council of Canadians released yesterday a report on how the acTviTes of the Canadian mining industry in Patagonia and Canadian investors and pension funds are contribuTng to the social unrest in Aysén.
The introducTon to the report begins with these words…
“Far away, on the southern cone of South America in Chilean Patagonia, exists one of the most beauJful, sJll-‐virgin territories on Earth. There, an intense struggle is taking place that most Canadians have never heard of, but that inJmately involves the Canadian mining industry, the Canadian government, and millions of Canadian pensioners and investors.” ILC
Protests in Aysén
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AYSÉN – It’s been a month since the protests in Aysén began and only one of the eleven demands put forward by the “Tu Problem Es Mi Problema” civil movement has been addressed in a saTsfactory manner – the demand for beXer health care faciliTes.
Obviously there is sTll a long way to go and negoTaTons have almost ground to a halt, following the NaTonal Government’s aXempt to split the talks into a series of roundtable meeTngs with various ministries and the coaliTon that makes up the Aysén movement.
The government’s suggesTon that the leaders of the traditonal fishermen meet separately with the department of Fisheries was met by derision and a statement that the leaders of 24 groups must be present at all meeTngs. The leaders of the movement saw this as a Machievillian enterprise, claiming that the government’s suggesTon to host concurrent meeTngs in Coyhaique and Puerto Aysén was a ploy to divide and conquer by spliyng the coaliton and removing their negoTaTng strength.
The demands of the civil movement are diverse, and range from protecTng the tradiTonal fishing industry to subsidies on fire wood, gas and petrol, to wage and benefit equity. They also call for more regional control of natural resources, which is a key point in light of the intense opposiTon the government has faced regarding Hydro Aysen’s proposal to dam the Rio Baker, Patagonia’s mighTest river.
With 82% of the region’s populaTon said to be supporTng the movement and its demands, it is easy to understand why the civil movement members see their futures intertwined and were able to mobilise roadblocks throughout the 1,000km long region. Those road blocks have now been liked, but this could change at any moment. Here in La Junta, five hours north of Coyhaique, people are on the alert to a breakdown in negoTaTons and clear that should this happen the road blocks would again be erected.
The power of the movement is emphasized by the will to accept such things as the food and fuel shortages recently experienced in the city of Coyhaique, and in such Tny villages as
Unity through Diversity in AysénWritten by Paul Coleman
Protests in Aysén
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Puyuhuapi. Large supermarkets in the city have been photographed empty of fruit and vegetables and now it appears there is a shortage of flour.
In La Junta, Puyuhuapi and Puerto Cisnes, all part of the vast, though lightly inhabited Cisnes community, food shortages have led to the closure of the nursery, kindergarten, elementary and middle school. Yesterday I visited the Facebook page of Luis Valdes Guiyerez, the Mayor of Cisnes Commune and read this message from him:
“Due to the Regional Aysén movement, Tu Problema Es Mi Problema, and the slow response of the Government to reach soluJons, there appears today a problem, that has to do with the area of educaJon. Classes are suspended and this can seriously affect the children and young people of our community, because the loss of classes at the beginning of school year must be recovered on Saturdays or by extending the school year.
Presently there is a food scarcity, but teachers are almost 100% present in their establishments. My concern today is with our children’s year end and for this same reason I would like to have your opinion on my (Faceboook) wall.”
La Junta gets most of it’s supplies from the north, via ferry from Puerto MonX to Chaiten, and then along the Carretera Austral. Since La Junta is the first point of entry into Aysén from the north, there has been just one barricade, and this was opened every few hours to let villagers through. La Junta has not suffered the same shortages as other villages in the commune who rely on their food coming from the south, which saw many more roadblocks, demonstraTons and confrontaTons with the police. The fuel shortage, on the other hand, has been experienced throughout the region. Even now, one week aker the removal of the barricades, people can only buy twenty thousand pesos worth of petrol or diesel a day.
Regular bus service is only a memory and the tourist industry has slowed down significantly. Yet, I have not met a single person from the village who disagrees with the demands of the movement. This solid, across the board support, has been here since day one. It was witnessed first by the wide range of groups that came together, then by the support of all regional poliTcal parTes, from the councillors, to the mayors, to the representaTves and senators. Lek, right and center, everyone is standing together, along with the Bishop of Aysen and his flock.
To the eyes of keen observers, from within and outside Chile, this movement is seen as call for decentralizaTon and even autonomy. Yet there is no rush to exit Aysén from Chile, even though certain news outlets and sources have seized on the fact that at one parTcular rally, people were seen carrying a banner reading “ArgenTna Adopt Us”. As regards this parTcular issue, waving such a banner ensures media aXenTon beyond Chile.
The vast majority of signs displayed at the demonstraTons clearly show that the protesters, even though they are far removed from the rest of the country, consider themselves proud to be part of Chile. Unity through diversity could be the essence and strength of the movement. Even though decentralisaTon may be at the heart of the maXer, people here sTll want it to be known that they are one with the naTon.
There are some interesTng Tmes ahead.
Protests in Aysén
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SANTIAGO – Minister of Labor, Evelyn MaXhei, blamed former naTonal governments for the disaster that struck Punta Arenas yesterday in the wake of torrenTal rains and widespread flooding. Although she recognizes that the responsibility for handling the disaster falls upon the Magallanes NaTonal Emergency Office (Onemi), who she says did not issue a sufficient early warning to residents, the Minister said the main problem is the city’s ageing infrastructure and crumbling bridges.
“This situaTon could not be avoided nor miTgated. When you are in charge of Onemi, the worst thing you can do is give people a false sense of security. You always must be look out. However, the woman in charge (Erika Canales) said that there would not be any problem. That is terrible!” she told the Chilean staTon Radio CooperaJva.
“This happened twenty years ago on 1990. Aker that happened, they said that the Zenteno, Boris, Magallanes and Navarro bridges were going to be repaired in order to avoid future disasters. Nothing was done,” she added.
“Water came into the city instead of following the course of the river. Bridges were supposed to be changed to be set higher, but nothing was done. They must be changed, if not, this situaTon is going to happened over and over again.”
When it first began to rain, most of the weather staTons said that the storm would be like most of the others that are common to the region and would affect Punta Arenas during the early hours of Sunday morning. However, the rain did not let up, and forty hours later the storm caused more damage than anyone would have imagined. It is being called the worst storm that the Magallanes has seen in twenty-‐two years.
To deal with the crisis, this akernoon the regional government approved the demoliTon of the upper banks of the Las Minas river, which they hope will allow more water from the river to quickly flow into the sea. ILC
Protests in Aysén
Matthei blames former government for situation in Punta ArenasWritten by Matt Niner
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SANTIAGO – Student riots shook SanTago central this Thursday. Thousands of students were concentrated this morning in Plaza Italia for the first March for EducaTon in 2012. The group planned to walk towards the Ministry of EducaTon, starTng at 11 a.m., however the police dispersed the protesters before they even began. The march was organized by the Asamblea Coordinadora de Estudiantes Secundarios (ACES) and was not authorized by the municipality of SanTago.
According to Juan, one of the representaTves of the popular student and workers’ group Asamblea Flori-‐Puente, this was the first organized march of the year. It was also a call to conTnue the mobilizaTons from 2011, when students in Chile occupied and paralyzed for months numerous public offices and universiTes, asking for free and quality public
educaTon. Juan predicts that in 2012, the strategy of the students movement will be changed. “The fight will probably be done in a different way this year, as the occupaTons have eroded the movement,” he told I Love Chile News.
Police RepressionThe police used mainly tanks with water cannons and tear gas to disperse any aXempt of the protesters to reorganize. Many students had burning eyes and difficulty breathing. The presence of human rights observers did not inhibit the repression that began in Plaza Italia, where youngsters were holding banners and chanTng. The mobilizaTon was dispersed, however the riots conTnued. There are reports that close the central campus of Universidad
Student Protest
Chile’s first student march in 2012 is marked by conflict and police repressionWritten by Débora Gastal
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Católica the protesters started to break the pavement of the streets to make stones to throw at police.
An audiovisual direcTon student at UC, Consuelo Gonzales, criTcized the violence. She parTcipated in the marches but is not affiliated with any movement. To her, the marches are an opportunity for the people to show what they think. “The police are not respecTng what supposedly is their job: to protect the people and public welfare,” she told us.
Last Monday, Amnesty InternaTonal released a leXer addressed to President SebasTán Piñera congratulaTng him on two years of government, recognizing the advances but also showing concern about the respect for human rights in Chile. The document says, “Amnesty InternaTonal is very concerned about human rights violaTons that have occurred in the last year in the context of the marches and protests. Demonstrators claim the use of excessive force by the police; the misuse of tear gas and water cannons; arbitrary arrests and reports of torture and mistreatment, including beaTngs and threats of sexual violence.”
UDI OccupationIn another act of protest, the vice president of the Federación de Estudiantes de la Universidad de Chile (Fech), Camila Vallejo, accompanied by member of the Juventudes Comunistas (Communist Youth), occupied the office of the Chilean right party Unión Demócrata Independiente (UDI). The occupaTon was peaceful, and also called for the end of the repression in Aysén. On TwiXer, the group said
that they are protesTng against “two years of a government that is deaf and detached from the public”.
The protestsThe protests in Chile started in June 2011 against the educaTonal system created in 1980 during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. In Chile, there are no free universiTes. Even the public Universidad de Chile charges tuiTon. Many students have to make loans to pay the university, and they allege that they complete the advanced courses in debt and with no prospects in the labor market.
Speaking to I Love Chile News, Eduardo Mora, a law student from the Universidad de Chile, said, “The main thing we are asking is a free and quality educaTon, in a way to break the sTgma of class that exists in Chilean society. If one does not have the money to pay, this person is not able to enroll in a good school because of the abandonment of public educaTon in our country.”
The protesters call for more funding for students in public universiTes, changes in the admission process and free educaTon for the poorest. More investments in secondary schools are also required. Responsibility for this part of the educaTonal system was passed to the municipality during the military regime, which resulted in scarce resources.
The student protests are the worst protests that the Chilean government has faced since the end of the dictatorship in 1990. ILC
Student Protest
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SANTIAGO – Just about anyone who drives a car, takes the bus or shops at a local produce market in Chile has probably noTced things geyng more expensive recently. Gas prices have risen very quickly over the last couple of months and this, in turn, has caused many public transportaTon companies to raise their fares. The price of food, parTcularly fruits and vegetables, has also risen over the summer, parTally due to the drought affecTng the central regions.
As prices rise, there is a risk that this will put pressure on the disposable incomes of a large porTon of the populaTon and cause a slowing of the economy as people make less non-‐essenTal purchases. In order to miTgate rising food prices, the Chilean government has already been providing assistance to farmers affected by the drought. With the summer coming to an
end, they are now calling for the last applicaTons for this program to be made by this Wednesday (the 14th).
In order to moderate rising fuel prices, some poliTcians, parTcularly from the UDI party (Independent DemocraTc Union), are asking for a reducTon in the gas tax and claim that this would help maintain economic stability and likely spur growth through out the country. In Chile, when you buy a liter of gas or diesel fuel, you pay a specific fuel tax (impuesto específico de combusTble) on top of the value added tax (impuesto al valor agregado, or IVA). This means somewhere around 40% of the price of fuel is tax. If gas prices conTnue increasing like they have been recently, we may see increased support for the lowering or repealment of the specific fuel tax. ILC
Business
Chilean politicians try to moderate rising food and gas pricesWritten by Darren Kaiser
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ILC News is printed every month and is now also available as a digital copy. Our writers report on events from throughout Chile on a wide variety of topics, with the same high quality of reporTng that can be found on the ILC News web site. We have a number of writers covering poliTcs, news, indigenous affairs, finance, sports, women’s issues and entrepreneurship. To have the ILC News print version delivered right to your door each month, subscribe now! We have a range of packages to suit your needs. The print copy is also available at a number of kiosks around SanTago
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!"#$%&'()*&+#$,"-.%'#)/%,)*$0%%1#I Love Chile News has become the perfect English Language training tool for schools across Chile. Filled with feature articles ranging from politics to the environment from travel to history, all in English and only Chilean content.
I Love Chile News is Chileʼs only English language print newspaper, written by native English speakers from the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Printed once a month I Love Chile News gives your students and staff the opportunity to ʻpracticeʼ the English they learn in your educational institution.
We now provide major discounts for Educational Institutions and Learning Centers as a way to assist Chile in itʼs goal to become a bilingual country. Subscribe you school today.
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AYSÉN – Mandalay Resources CorporaTon has resumed operaTons at its Cerro Bayo project, which were stalled when public protests in the Aysén Province blocked the road to the mine and port.
In a press release dated March 9th, 2012 Mandalay, a Canadian based natural resource company with producing assets in Australia and Chile, announced that normal operaTons at their Cerro Bayo gold and silver mine in Southern Aysen, resumed Thursday morning aker the protestors of the “Tu Problema Es Mi Problema” Civil Movement removed the blockade on the road, allowing supplies in and out of the mine, as they began negoTaTons with the local government.
The Company is working towards returning to normal producTon levels and is proceeding with its overall ramp up plans for the project. The
disrupTon caused by the protests, which are focused towards the NaTonal Government, whom the protesters feel has neglected the region and it inhabitants, has had a minimal impact on producTon and will not affect annual producTon or financial guidance numbers.
The company reminds readers that…
‘This news release contains “forward-‐looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securiTes laws. Readers are cauToned not to place undue reliance on forward-‐looking statements. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements depending on, among other things, changes in commodity prices and general market and economic condiTons….’ ILC
Business
Mandalay Resources Provides Update on Aysén Protests and Resumption of Operations in the RegionWritten by Paul Coleman
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This week the Chilean government announced two separate programs designed to preserve Indigenous languages and transmit them to the next generaTon. They will promote the teaching of Indigenous languages to urban youth and will allow Indigenous communiTes to design and implement their own projects for rescuing and preserving naTve tongues.
The first of these programs—announced on Monday—targets youth in and around SanTago and is expected to result in more than 2,000 children learning the tradiTonal languages of the Aymara, Mapuche and/or Rapa Nui people. The program is being implemented through JUNJI (Junta Nacional de Jardines InfanJles), which essenTally oversees daycares and pre-‐schools throughout the country. The iniTaTve will begin with 24 schools in the SanTago area and will include the use of fluent speakers of Indigenous languages to teach and interact with the children.
The second program was unveiled in a ceremony at La Moneda (the presidenTal palace) and will put money in the hands of communiTes who submit proposals on how to rescue and pass on their own languages. In its first year the Chilean government has set aside more than US $800,000 to be distributed among communiTes. ApplicaTons will be accepted unTl April 14th and must meet some minimum criteria, including proof that at least 25 people will be learning the
language as part of the proposal. The program seeks to develop methods that can be used to improve transmission of Indigenous languages from generaTon to generaTon.
The topic of Indigenous languages has been a hot one lately, parTcularly since a major study was released earlier this year indicaTng that less than 12% of Indigenous people speak and understand their tradiTonal languages. According to the same report, at the current rate of language loss, Chile’s Indigenous peoples would effecTvely have lost the use of their languages within a few decades. These governmental programs, along with a growing number of community-‐based iniTaTves and movements have arisen to prevent that fate. ILC
Indigenous Focus
Chilean Government Announces Additional Initiatives to Save Indigenous LanguagesWritten by Laura Seelau & Ryan Seelau
Basic course in handloom weavingFrancisca Caselli will be holding classes in handloom weaving throughout March.
Length of the course: 12 hours, 4 classes of 3 hour each one
Time and Date:Choice #1 March 6, 13, 20, 27 from 10:00 to 13:00Choice #2 March 1, 15, 22, 29 from 18:00 to 21:00Choice #3 March 9, 16, 23, 30 from 18:00 to 21:00Choice #4 March 10, 17, 24, 31 from 10:00 to 13:00
LocaIon: Paulino Alfonso 343, Barrio Lastarria, Universidad Católica or Bellas Artes Metro.Contact: [email protected] Phone: 7-‐ 577 78 35
Class 1 – WEFT AND WARPIn the first course we will learn the main concepts to start weaving. Then we will study the loom funcIons in order to know how to weave. Also, in this class students will learn how to weave with different kinds of materials, colors and textures. This class is very entertaining and useful. At the end of the course you will have a liXle “woven collage” which can be framed.
Class 2 – ECO BAGIn the second class, students will learn how to
weave into textured structures by the weave recycling technique, and in this class we could also be make a 35×50 eco-‐bag.
Class 3 – MURAL DECORATIONA]er the second stage students will construct a mural decoraIon of 60×90 by mixed techniques, using wooden sIcks, pearls, looms and natural elements; and, of course, the topic is chosen by the student themselves.
Class 4 – PERSONAL PROJECTIn the last class students will do a Personal Project which will be managed by a teacher. The student can do whatever he or she wants with the project, but it will be previously organized with the professor in the third class.
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SANTIAGO – OrganizaTons such as the Equal FoundaTon (Fundacion Iguales), the NaTonal InsTtute of Human Rights (InsTtuto Nacional de Derechos Humanos), the Homosexual Movement of IntegraTon and LiberaTon (Movilh), and the Jewish Community in Chile aXended the formaliTes carried out by depuTes of the ChrisTan Democracy party.
ReiteraTng their categorical contempt of “the brutal beaTng” that the young Daniel Zamudio suffered by supposed neo-‐Nazi groups, and appealing to “the necessity to eradicate discriminaTon from the country”, the delegaTon of depuTes of the ChrisTan Democracy party, led by Aldo Cornejo and Gabriel Silber, proposed this Monday a bill which establishes the 16th of November as the naTonal “Day of Diversity”. It is during this day that the “Day of Tolerance” is celebrated globally as well.
The bill presentaTon was also aXended by the director of the NaTonal InsTtute of Human Rights, Lorena Fries; the president of the Equal FoundaTon, Pablo Simoney; the president of Movilh, Rolando Jimenez; the president of the Jewish Community in Chile, Shai Agosin; the president of the CommiXee for Human Rights of the DepuTes Chambers, Sergio Ojeda, and several other representaTves of many organizaTons and NGOs that promote and defend diversity in the country.
RepresentaTve Cornejo said about the bill: “Chile was built as a naTon thanks to the many valuable contribuTons towards diversity; equality is a substanTal pillar of every civilized society, and Chile has raTfied so in naTonal and internaTonal treaTes. Thus, the establishment of this day, the 16th of November, as the naTonal Day of
Diversity will be a key factor in making visible that everybody deserves equal respect, and in monitoring the public policies that deal with it.”
“We hope this bill is approved as soon as possible and, likewise, we hope the same for the pending anT-‐discriminaTon bill in the Congress. What happened to Daniel Zamudio, other than just shocking the enTre country, must not happen again to anybody else. It is a brutal act that must move us… towards supporTng those necessary acTons in order to eradicate violence by those who discriminate, forgeyng such a basic and essenTal principle as equality,” added Cornejo.
Meanwhile, the Equal FoundaTon expressed the need for the government to assume a leading role in promoTng diversity, through laws and public policies that aim to prevent all forms of discriminaTon.
“By establishing the naTonal Day of Diversity, we are also giving a crystal clear signal of the value that the Chilean state places on diversity… as a resource of social richness, peace and progress. Furthermore, this bill will allow social organizaTons for diversity to commemorate each year on the work that has brought us to this important place in the construcTon of a free and supporTve Chile,” said the foundaTon in a press release. ILC
News
Chile to create a national “Day of Diversity”Written by Sandro Aravena Perez
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March 10th, 2012, our I Love Chile Radio DJ, Marcial Diaz, took part in the Chilean second version of the “World Naked Bike Ride (WNBR)”, which is an internaTonal clothing-‐opTonal bike ride in which parTcipants, plan, meet and ride together en masse on human-‐powered transport (the vast majority on bicycles) to “deliver a vision of a cleaner, safer, body-‐posiTve world” (as defined by Wikipedia).
This Chilean version was called “Ciclistas Empelotados”, translated roughly as “Naked Bikers in Rage”.
The “clothing opTonal” ride through the streets of SanTago.
It was organized for the second Tme in Chile, being the first one last year on June 11th. This version was led, amongst other people, by Valeska Pino, known on the social networks as “Valeskyta Primavera”, who had also been featured on I Love Chile Radio’s show “Live & Kicking” last December and January, and conducted by DJ Marcial Díaz.
This ride had as meeTng and starTng point the façade of the “Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, MAC” (Museum of Contemporary Art) on the Parque Forestal, downtown SanTago. It began at 14:30 pm, and merely a couple of blocks away from I Love Chile’s offices.
The route taken by about 50 parTcipants was mostly busy streets of downtown SanTago such as Jose Miguel de la Barra, Moneda, Bandera, Compañia, Miraflores and from there back to the iniTal point. On the route many pedestrians, and bystanders were caught by surprise, including several “Carabineros” (the Chilean police corp), who despite showing more acTve reacTons at other public demonstraTons of a more poliTcal order, acted very quietly on this one, and did not aXempt at any minute to stop this group of riders.
This turned out to be a relief for the organizers since last year’s version ended up with seven people arrested for showing total nudity in public. Most parTcipants inquired by Marcial Diaz explained that previous outcome as “WNBR’s version last year had taken place on Av. Providencia, with heavy traffic, and also, apparently, the lack of tolerance towards this type of demonstraTons exhibited by the authoriTes of that municipality”.
This current WNBR’s version had as slogan “1.5 meters of life”, since parTcipants were asking to be given more space on the streets of the country for bicycle riders, simbolized by 1.5 m of a bike line on the streets. Other parTcipants also carried slogans on their bodies. The one chosen by Marcial Diaz, printed out and stuck on his chest was: “Bicycles have been out on the street for 200 years. Cars for 100 years. Bicycles = An older right to ride on the streets”.
Besides, this group calls themselves “Ciclistas Empelotados” because as explained by one parTcipant “bikers are angry towards the authoriTes that do not pay aXenTon to their needs and to car and bus drivers that do not respect them, when they ride on the streets because no good bike lanes are available”.
News
Santiago cyclists strip to campaign for more rightsWritten by I Love Chile Administrator
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COQUIMBO – A massive explosion will signal the start of work on the Telescopio Gigante Magallanes, or Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), with the site being prepared for construcTon on next Friday, March 23rd. The telescope is the product of years of scienTfic research and is expected to add to Chile’s strong reputaTon as a key area for astronomic studies. The telescope is being built at the exisTng observatory on Cerro Las Campanas, high in the Andes in the Coquimbo (IV) Region.
The new instrument, currently being built beneath the football stadium of the University of Arizona, shall consist of seven mirrors that together will form a mirror 25 meters in diameter and have a high-‐resoluTon capability for clearer pictures of planets orbiTng distant stars and black holes. It will explore the nature of dark maXer and the origins of galaxies.
The GMT will allow astronomers to answer some of the most pressing quesTons about the cosmos, including the detecTon, imaging, and characterizaTon of planets orbiTng other stars, the nature of dark maXer and dark energy, the physics of black holes, and how stars and galaxies evolved during the earliest phases of the universe.
The inauguraTon of the work will be aXended by many delegates and senior representaTves of the Carnegie InsTtuTon for Sciences, the Smithsonian InsTtuTon, the Harvard-‐Smithsonian Astronomical Observatory in the United States,
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile and representaTves of Universidad de Chile, the U.S. ambassador Alejandro Wolff, Australian ambassador Virginia Greville, authoriTes in the Region of Coquimbo, observatory astronomers and members of the naTonal scienTfic community.
The complex at Las Campanas Observatory is one of the three centers of astronomical research in Chile that has received U.S. funding and operates under agreements with the University of Chile, which makes it possible for scienTsts in the country to access these faciliTes. The observatory has operated in the Coquimbo Region for more than four decades and now has four large telescopes, which include two Magellan telescopes, 6.5-‐meters in diameter.
Because of the limited amount of light polluTon and the clear night skies, the north of Chile is renowned as the best place in the world for astronomy research. The new telescope, planned for compleTon in 2018 will exceed anything seen before in the world of astronomy. The Giant Magellan Telescope will mean astronomers can see more of the universe around us, with the telescope able to receive more light than ever before and also take higher resoluTon images than ever seen before.
The observatories in Chile’s north have seen a range of fascinaTng research conducted in them. The winners of the 2011 Nobel Prize, Brian Schmidt, Adam Riess and Saul PerlmuXer, conducted their research in Chile. Aker later analysis they were able to prove that the universe was expanding at an acceleraTng rate. Professor Schmidt, a professor at the Australian NaTonal University, expressed his excitement about the new telescope.
The Australian Government has pledged $100 million for the project and has been joined by the government of Korea as well as a number of scienTfic insTtuTons in contribuTng to the project. ILC
News
Work begins in Chile on Giant Magellan TelescopeWritten by Daniel Boyle
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At 7:30 am on Tuesday a rare acTvity took place in downtown SanTago to celebrate the first anniversary of the Elige Vivir Sano (Choose Healthy Living) program. A massive spin class with 200 spinning bikes gathered athletes and pedestrians.
On the first anniversary celebraTon of the Elige Vivir Sano program, fostered by the first lady, Cecilia Morel, a rare iniTaTve took place on the corner of Ahumada and Moneda, one of the busiest places in SanTago.
At 7:30 AM there were 200 spinning bikes that were used by enthusiasTc parTcipants that came to be involved in the acTvity.
“We wanted to draw the people’s aXenTon to the importance of physical acTvity and make them realize that sports can be done at any hour of the day. We did this early in the morning because we think is the best way of starTng the day” said the Elige Vivir Sano program Director, Pauline Kantor.
It was not only athletes involved in the process, even SanTago Centro mayor Pablo ZalaqueX, along with another 200 people, enjoyed the acTvity sponsored by SporTlfe gym and broadcasted live on a huge screen placed on the corner which is owned by Grupo Digital.
Pauline Kantor said the Elige Vivir Sano urban intervenTons will conTnue to celebrate the first anniversary,
which looks for persuading people and make them realize about the benefits of doing exercises and have an acTve and healthy life.
“In the Ciudadanía Square, starTng at 9:30 am and with the Reebok brand sponsoring the acTvity, we are going to perform an acTvity for free with CrossFit professionals who are going to invite people to parTcipate in 30 minutes acTviTes for boosTng their stretching, coordinaTon and agility capabiliTes”, Kantor explained.
The program was started by Primera Dama (First Lady) Cecilia Morel in order to combat health problems in Chile. Alexis Sánchez, star of Barcelona and the Chilean naTonal team is an ambassador of the program. ILC
News
Surprise spin class in central Santiago thanks to Elige Vivir SanoWritten by Daniel Boyle
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One of I Love Chile’s writers takes the journey to San Pedro de Atacama. Deborah Kunkel shares here experiences with us.
I took a 4:00pm flight from SanTago to Calama, a small City in the north of Chile one hour away from the oasis “San Pedro de Atacama”.
An alternaTve to flying north is to take the bus. To ride in a Chilean bus is always a rare experience. You see a lot of the country, and you can hardly take a more comfortable bus in your life. Nevertheless, it takes 28 hours by bus – Tme that I wanted to spend touring the Atacama.
The flight was 1 hour and 45 minutes, and also the landing in Calama was an experience as well.
I landed directly in the desert. The shuXle bus came at a price (12,000 pesos or US$24), but they brought me directly to my hostel and from there I went directly through the desert to San Pedro.
Arriving in San Pedro, I saw why this small city is also called an “oasis”. Although San Pedro survives almost completely off the tourism industry, it is a charming village. It reminds you of a bedouin camp and seems so different than the big ciTes of Chile. The many tourists and the high prices is all reminds you that you are sTll in civilizaTon.
My hostel was quite modest (something for younger people, in fact) but it had his charm. The people were very friendly and helpful and I
Travel
Three days in San Pedro de AtacamaWritten by Deborah Kunkel
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could book the tours for the next day at once. Aker a delicious but quite expensive dinner in a restaurant on the main street, I went to bed. My first trip would start at 7 o’clock.
Saturday at 7:00 (7:30 Chilean Tme) they picked me up from my hostel to start the tour of the Salar de Atacama. Tired but excited, I got on the small bus. Aker just a few minutes, I was admiring the stunning landscape of the desert.
It is difficult to describe the desert. It is different from what I expected, and there is not only sand. The desert is made up of a range of different rocks with many different colors. First we drove for a while through the desert, going higher and higher unTll we reached a height of 4,250 meters. That is a height where it might be difficult to breathe, which is why we drank a lot of coca tea to make it beXer. There we saw the laguna “AlTplanica”. It was so beauTful, really unsurpassable.
There, in front of the laguna, we had a breakfast before we went on to the salt lake. At the salt lake I experienced some very great moments. It is difficult to describe. There were enTre meters of salt crust that made weird figures in the ground. Then we saw the blue lagoon, the “Laguna Chaxa”, where different species of flamingos live.
It really was one of the most beauTful places I have ever seen.
Totally fascinated, I got back to San Pedro where the next tour was ready to start. The next trip was to the “Valle de la Luna” – the valley of the moon. It was a shorter but also impressive trip. I got a sight of a lunar landscape right in the middle of the desert – a weird, eroded landscape with many different figures.
First we saw these strange figures in the valley, and later we climbed up a hill to get a great view from above them. On top of the hill we could also see the sunset, and to complete the tour
Travel
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we drank a pisco sours before going back to San Pedro. Homeward bound there was a horrible thunderstorm. Unfortunately, that was also the reason why the heavens were dull the whole weekend… I could not watch the world-‐famous spangled sky. The skies of the Atacama are known around the world for the clarity with which you can see the stars.
Back at the hostel I kept in mind that two trips in one day are quite exhausTng and I collapsed into bed.
The next day should have been the day of the tour of the “Laguna Cejar”, where I wanted to swim. But all of Chile made a mistake with the Tme change. All digital clocks thought there was a Tme change, because it happened once before, but in fact the Tme stayed the same. So I arrived one hour too late to the meeTng point and had to find an alternaTve for the day. So, I explored the village and made some new acquaintances.
On Monday, my last day, I took a bike tour. It was a cool, and much cheaper, way to explore the desert. In the face of the heat it was quite pleasant bicycling and exploring the desert on our own.
Since my flight back to SanTago was at 22:45, I got to join in a barbecue in my hostel before I returned to Calama. This Tme I took the cheaper, recommended way to get to the airport. I took the “TurBus” to Calama for 2,900 pesos and there I took a taxi to the airport for 3,000 pesos.That was really cheaper than the shuXle I took on my way to San Pedro.
All in all I had an unforgeXable Tme in San Pedro that I really recommend the journey, especially to those that love the nature and want to explore another amazing side of Chile. ILC
Travel
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SANTIAGO – Aker Universidad de Chile put six unanswered goals into the net against Audax Italiano, one would expect a fesTve atmosphere near the La Florida stadium. That wasn’t the case though, with one fan of “La U” being shot in the face. The most concerning element of this was that he was shot by another fan of Universidad de Chile. The different segments of the “barras” have begun to fight among each other. This was clear during the match against Iquique, where supporters threw fireworks on to the field.
The club is currently serving their punishment for this incident, which involved playing a game behind closed doors, and their subsequent four home matches to members only. While the Copa Sudamericana champions have struggled to find consistency this year, the thrashing of Audax Italiano sees them rise to the top of the table, with a very healthy goal differenTal.
It is off the field that is looking unhealthy at the moment. This parTcular incident occurred four blocks from the stadium. The shooter was quickly apprehended by police, while the vicTm was taken to the Hospital Sótero del Río for treatment. The vicTm was only sixteen years old. As the offence happened within
the perimeter of the stadium, the shooter will be charged under the Law of Violence in Stadiums, part of the Plan Estadio Seguro (Safe Stadiums Plan).
Regional Governor Cecilia Pérez said on the naTonal Chilean radio staTon, Radio Bio Bio, “football is a sport, not a shelter for criminals”, however she announced that she expects the new away match for Universidad de Chile, when they visit Estadio San Carlos Apoquindo for the University Classic against Universidad Católica “should be a normal match”. She expressed saTsfacTon with the arrest of the man saying “No true fan, who loves their team and football, goes to the stadium with homemade weapons and hidden elements in cars.”
The man who fired the shot, 31 year old Álvaro Antonio Retamal Arias has been placed into custody, charged with aXempted manslaughter, illegal possession of firearms and breaching the law against violence in stadiums. He has previous criminal history for armed robbery and causing serious injury.
New laws are currently before the Senate which will place clubs responsible for the acTons of their fans. Chief of the Safe Stadiums Plan, CrisTán Barra said the support from the clubs to
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Universidad de Chile fan shot after soccer victoryWritten by Daniel Boyle
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the barras needs to be changed. “Clubs have to assume responsibility, especially if they cooperate with organized bar. For example, I think that if a club is funded transportaTon to a bar to go to another city and the bar makes outrages in that city, obviously the club has a responsibility, because they are funding this acTvity. We also want clubs to invest in security measures” he said.
Last week the new commiXee for NaTonal Security for Stadiums met for the first Tme. The meeTng was aXended by ANFP President Sergio Jadue, CrisTán Barra and the General Alejandro Olivares, chief of the Caribineros supervising stadiums. The ANFP and representaTves from
the clubs have been strongly criTcal of the new laws. When they passed through the Chamber of DepuTes, Azul Azul chairman Federico Valdes was forced to apologize when he said “son una manga de pelotudos” (“they are a bunch of assholes”) in regards to the depuTes.
The next round will see “La U” taking on Unión Española at Estadio Nacional. There is sure to be a heavy security presence for the ensuing games, which will include their matches in the Copa Libertadores. Meanwhile, their archrivals Colo Colo have fallen to eleventh place aker a loss to La Serena, and coach Ivo Basay is under pressure to keep his posiTon. ILC
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BARCELONA, SPAIN – Alexis Sánchez has returned to training aker his latest injury, joining his fellow players in toughening up for the rest of the season.
The Chilean striker wants to be fit again very quickly and be a strong subsTtute for coach Joseph Guardiola. He may be able to play next weekend at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán stadium, where FC Barcelona will play against Sevilla. He has pracTced a lot in the last few days, even more than his fellow players. The 23-‐year-‐old wants to make up for lost Tme and experience. To the surprise of his fans here in Chile and in Spain, we may be able to watch Alexis play on Saturday. His injury is almost healed up and his determinaTon is vast.
He injured his shoulder playing against “SporTng Gijon”, and aker that he had to be on a strict recovery diet. The coaches and officials were a bit on edge as a result of yet another injury, which is why he wants to make up for it and prove his talent to all of his skepTcs.
Although Real Madrid is siyng preXy and has 10 points more than Barcelona, Barca does not want to give up and is looking for a strong finish to the season. In the Champions League it seems that they will be very successful,
especially aker defeaTng Bayer 04 Leverkusen 7-‐1. Unfortunately, Sánchez did not take a part in this emphaTc victory, but he was the goal-‐scorer in the first-‐leg game. The offensive duo of Lionel Messi and Alexis Sánchez could be one of the best in the world.
The Chilean Star striker also needs to get in form for the naTonal team. “La roja” without Sánchez is just not the same. He has a disTncTve style and is a very good aXacker. All that needs to change is his unfortunate tendency to injure himself. ILC
Alexis is back againWritten by Deborah Kunkel
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SANTIAGO – Hard Tmes have fallen on Chile’s most successful team. In the Primera Division things are looking bleak for Colo Colo. They have not been in good form and now it is also sure that president Hernan Levi threw in the towel and will leave Colo Colo on the 9th of April. For coach Ivo Basay it could be a Tght squeeze. Colo Colo has performed poorly, with the latest loss in La Serena deemed unacceptable by fans.
This weekend they will play in Calama. There it will be seen whether Basay will keep his job or not. It is all or nothing. Colo Colo needs to make up for lost points during their match against Cobreloa.
Not only on the field, but also in private rooms and in training, trouble is brewing. The players are dissaTsfied with themselves and with the work and performance of their coach. Since naTonal team coach Claudio Borghi lek, it seems that everything has gone down the tubes with Colo Colo, and something must be done.
Basay, however, is in Claudio Borghi’s big shadow. His predecessor won 4 championships with the black and white team. Shares in Blanco y Negro, the company operaTng Colo Colo, have fallen drasTcally since then.
Experts have announced the year 2012 to be “their year”. Nobody ever thought they would start off so badly. They are in 11th place in the standings and have had some embarrassing performances. La Serena and Universidad de Concepción could win beat them in their own stadium in SanTago… something that was not possible in previous years.
If they conTnue with their poor performance, the most successful team in Chile will face the possibility of dropping to Primera B. The former striker who played 75 matches for Colo Colo and scored 38 goals between 1996 and 1999 will face immense pressure. Fans have expressed disappointment since his move from O’Higgins to Estadio Monumental.
The players have given mixed signals in regards to their performance this year. Captain Esteban Paredes said aker an emergency meeTng that the players were not ready for a change in their coach just yet.
“I don’t know if we’re ready for a coaching change. We hope to reverse the situaTon and begin a winning streak,” he said. ILC
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Colo Colo coach Ivo Basay under pressure to keep his jobWritten by Deborah Kunkel
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LONDON, ENGLAND & MONTERREY, MEXICO – Despite holding a 3-‐1 advantage leading into their match, it was not enough for Napoli to pass through to the next stage of the Champions League.
Aker signing a mulT-‐million dollar deal with the Italian club, Chilean striker Eduardo Vargas has seen liXle acTon. The star of the 2011 Copa Sudamericana campaign with Universidad de Chile arrived on the field in the second half of overTme, but failed to change the fate of the match.
A direct free kick saw Chelsea take the lead with a score of 4-‐1. The score wasn’t quite as amazing as the 7-‐1 destrucTon that Barcelona gave to Bayer Leverkusen last week, but sees the London team move through to the quarter finals.
It was goals from well-‐known names such as veterans Didier Drogba and John Terry that sent Napoli out of the tournament. Despite inconsistent form and the sacking of their coach, Chelsea are the only English team remaining in the compeTTon. The old guard has been heavily criTcized throughout the year, but when it came to the crunch, they were the players to bring Chelsea back into the match.
The signing of Vargas was seen as an early strike for Napoli ahead of the
Champions League encounter, with the striker being in the targets of Chelsea and a range of other clubs. It has been hard for the Chilean to reach a starTng place, as the Napoli side has been in good form. The Italian club impressed many in their Champions League debut, reaching the final sixteen, despite having big guns such as Manchester City and Bayern Munich in their qualifying group.
Rumors abound that Vargas will be traded to another club, however coach Walter Mazzarri has asked fans to give the young forward Tme to prove his worth.
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Eduardo Vargas and Napoli lose, double for Humberto SuazoWritten by Daniel Boyle
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The draw for the eight teams sTll involved in the compeTTon has just been released. The four match-‐ups are as follows:
APOEL (Cyprus) vs Real Madrid (Spain)
Marseille (France) vs Bayern Munich (Germany)
Benfica (Portugal) vs Chelsea (England)
AC Milan (Italy) vs Barcelona (Spain)
Humberto Suazo scores a double for Monterrey
In the North American version of the Champions League, the Chilean striker was back in form with a double for his Mexican club Monterrey. Aker starTng the year training with the youth squad because of a late return from the holiday break, “Chupete” has bounced back to his best.
Suazo scored twice against Moreila in a 4-‐1 victory, which gave the defending champions a big aggregate victory, with a final score of 7-‐2. Chile hopes to have all their best players in fine form before the World Cup qualifiers resume in Bolivia in June.
Matías Fernandez scores as Sporting knocks out Manchester City
Aker being the only goal scorer for the Chilean naTonal team in their clash with Ghana, Ma�as Fernández conTnued his strong run, scoring from a free kick as Portuguese team SporTng took care of Manchester City in the Europa Cup. It was all bad news for Manchester, with Manchester United losing to AtleTco Bilbao, the club of former Chilean team coach Marcelo Bielsa. Bielsa’s squad are now the favorites to win the tournament. ILC
Sports
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SANTIAGO – Later this month, SanTago will
receive progressive metal legends Opeth in support of their world tour of their most recent album, the 2011 Heritage. While the band has toned down from their earlier albums, Mikael Åkerfeldt and his band can expect a strong response in SanTago.
While vastly different from the earlier works of Orchid and Morningrise, the latest ediTon borrows elements from outside the metal genre, with clear influences from folk music. Heritage adds to the extensive Opeth collecTon, which sees a variety of styles from the extremes of death metal to the clean harmonies that have been present throughout the works.
The beauty of Opeth is their ability to blend the two styles, along with other influences, to create a sound of their own. The masters of progressive metal will return to Teatro Caupolicán aker their first visit in 2009. The performance will take place on March 28th.
Tickets cost 22,000 pesos and are available from the Rock Axis bar near Metro Manuel MonX or from Ticketmaster outlets. The show will begin at 9pm.
For fans of Swedish metal, Opeth aren’t the only band to look out for. It has recently been announced that Gothenburg legends At The Gates will make their first appearance in Chile. The band is credited with creaTng the “Gothenburg Sound” which led to other bands
such as Soilwork and In Flames coming out of the same city and taking the metal world by storm.
At The Gates broke up aker releasing the seminal Slaughter of the Soul in the mid 90s. The band came together to play at the 2008 installment of the German fesTval Wacken. The fesTval brings together metal fans from all over the world.
LISTEN HERE
At the Tme of their reunion, they insisted they would not create any new music, however their previous work stands with any recent releases from the world of melodic metal. A special DVD “The Flames At The End” was made aker their re-‐forming in 2008.
The At The Gates show will take place on July 25th at Teatro Teletón. Tickets are available from the PuntoTicket system, which can be purchased at Ripley department stores or Cinemark. The price for the Tcket is 17,600 pesos.
The visit to Chile is part of a LaTn America tour which will include Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Uruguay, ArgenTna and Brazil. The arrival of these Swedish legends is not the only reason for metal fans in Chile to get excited.
April will bring the two-‐day “Chile Metal Fest” event. Spanning the weekend of April 28-‐29, some of the biggest names in heavy metal will appear at the Movistar Arena. The final act was announced earlier this week, with Kyuss Lives added to the lineup, which includes Testament, Anthrax, Fear Factory, Exodus, Blind Guardian and Kreator. Twenty-‐eight bands will appear at the fesTval, the first of its kind in Chile.
Tickets for the fesTval cost 33,000 pesos for each day and are available through the Ticketek system. ILC
Arts & Entertaiment
Swedish metal legends to visit ChileWritten by Daniel Boyle
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SANTIAGO – Chilean pianist Michio Nishihara Toro will be offering a series of concerts in his own Academia Piano-‐Studio during the next three Saturdays in March. The musician has recently returned to Chile to re-‐iniTate his music academy with a series of free concerts to be held at 20:30 hours on March 17, 24, and 31.
Aker a number of successful performances in Berlin, and aker gaining valuable direcTon from the presTgious Kuppselsaal concert hall in Germany, he will once again be performing in his naTve homeland with three concerts that are open to everyone in SanTago at the Academia Piano-‐Studio (Manuel MonX 901 -‐esquina Keller-‐ Providencia, Metro Manuel MonX).
The concert schedule follows:
Sábado 17 de marzo, 20:30 horas, en Piano-‐Studio.Sábado 24 de marzo, 20:30 horas, en Piano-‐Studio.Sábado 31 de marzo, 20:30 horas, en Piano-‐Studio.
He will feature music from some of the great piano arTsts, with diverse styles and pieces from authors such as Beethoven, Debussy and Chopin. ILC
Arts & Entertaiment
Chilean pianist Michio Nishihara Toro offers free concert seriesWritten by Matt Niner
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Unfortunately the I Love Chile team was unable to defend their 2011 Ttle in the trivia night to raise money for the Hellen Keller School, however a great night was had and the Friends of Hellen Keller organizaTon managed to raise 2 million pesos (US$4,000) for the school. We would like to share a note from the organizaTon which thanked everyone for their involvement. Our very own CEO Dan Brewington controlled the acTon as Master of Ceremonies during the event.
With St Patrick’s Day coming up later in the week, the night had an Irish theme to it. Here is what Nicky Howe from the Friends of Hellen Keller organizaTon had to say.
Dear friends and supporters of Colegio Hellen Keller,
Thank you all so much for your aXendance at our Irish Trivia night last night. Ximena, Claudia, Dan, Amy and I had a great Tme up the front and thoroughly enjoyed all the banter that was going on throughout the night and hope that you did too.
Dan Brewington is simply the best MC and Carl Hammond the most talented musician – we thank you both most sincerely for generously giving of your Tme and talents. It was super to see everyone geyng into the spirit of things, especially those at Table 5 who took out the prize for best dressed team, thanks largely to the handiwork of Kimberley Nolan.
CongratulaCons must go to the winning team at Table 14 who scored 50 points out of a possible 62: Alejandro Palma, Erika Fort, Kate and Dwayne FenTe, Colin and Maria Sinclair, Neil Gray and William Howe. Well done. I hope you will be back to defend your Ttle in 2013.
The overall success of our Trivia night was made possible by the generous sponsorship which we received. I would like to especially acknowledge the support of Concha y Toro who supplied the wonderful wines and the following businesses who donated raffle prizes: Hacienda Santa MarTna; MANDU Personal trainers; Bicicleta Verde; restaurants Jewel of India, Bariloche, Confiteria Torres, Tiramisu; Serendipity cafe and cooking school; Hands and Company Plaza Peru;
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Trivia success for Hellen Keller SchoolWritten by Daniel Boyle
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and special thanks to Dan for securing the VIP Tckets to the Ricardo Arjona concert. Thank you for your support of the raffle – our Tcket sellers Amy, Maria Isabel and Peggy were kept very busy, as were our Bar men William and ScoX who all did a great job.
As you know, the Friends of Hellen Keller are currently raising funds for their heaTng project, fondly known as Taking the chill out of Chile. Your aXendance and support of our event last night has made a significant contribuTon to this heaTng fund. The sum of $2million pesos was raised which will go directly towards the cost of replacing the old original windows in the Hall with new aluminium framed thermopanel windows which will not only greatly improve the appearance of the Hall, but will provide much needed insulaTon and warmth in the cold winter months. A hear�elt thanks to each and every one who contributed to this success thereby helping to improve the quality of life of the students at the school who are so deserving of your support.
May the road rise up to meet you,May the wind be always at your back,May the sun shine warm upon your face,and rains fall soK upon your fields.And unCl we meet again,May Gold hold you in the palm of his hand.
Nicky Howeon behalf of all the Friends of Hellen Keller
The trivia night was one of many occasions where the I Love Chile team has supported the Colegio Hellen Keller events. We look forward to giving more support in the future. The school provides assistance to vision impaired children.
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You’ll find the symbols of Chile throughout the country. It is important to understand what they are so you can both appreciate the meaning and speak intelligently about them.
CondorThe Andean Condor is one of the symbols of Chile that is prominently displayed on Chile’s coat of arms and on the 100 Chilean peso coin.
The Andean Condor lives only along the western edge of South America and flies majesTcally with a massive wingspan reaching up to 10 feet (3 meters).
HuemulThe Huemul, also known as a South Andean Deer, is an endangered species naTve to extreme southern Chile and ArgenTna. The Huemul joins the Andean Condor on Chile’s coat of arms.
Symbols of Chile on the FlagThe Chilean flag is also rich in symbolism. The red on the Chilean flag represents the blood spilled in its fight for independence. The white represents the snow-‐covered Andes that guard the eastern border of Chile. The blue is for the color of the sky. The star represents the governmental powers as they watch over the country.
Locations as SymbolsSeveral symbols of Chile are based on the country’s diverse landscapes. For example, you’ll see these iconic symbols used in media to represent their respecTve parts of the country:
1 Rapa Nui stone heads on Easter Island2 Peaks of the Andes mountains3 The unique, long and slender outline of
the country4 Snow capped volcanoes5 The towering peaks of the Torres del
Paine naTonal park
Independence Celebration SymbolsChile celebrates the fiestas patrias in September. During this Tme, you’ll see symbols of Chile all over the place. Everything is decorated in red, white, and blue. Flags hang from every corner. People enjoy Chile’s naTonal dance, la cueca.
Men and women will also dress up in tradiTonal Chilean clothing. Look for men dancing la cueca in classic Chilean huaso ayre with a Chilean cowboy hat, shirt, flannel poncho, riding pants, short jacket, riding boots, and spurs.
Look for the symbols of Chile while you are in the country. You’ll be surprised to see just how commonplace they are in popular culture.
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Pepe’s Chile: Symbols of ChileWritten by Pepe Rawlinson
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So as I sit here and drink my overpriced yet delicious iced coffee, I can’t help but reminisce about the past weekend. One of my best friend’s is geyng married next weekend, so claro que si, we had to throw her a BacheloreXe. Now, I’ve aXended BacheloreXes in the past but this Tme…it was el esTlo Chileno.
The night started with a bunch of us girls meeTng up for a cocktail hour and promiscuous games of all sorts. The champagne was popping and the apartment was decked out with bacheloreXe ayre (shot glasses in the shape of male body parts, etc). Aker one too many champagne glasses and cocktails, we made it to part dos of the night: the Male Strip Club. Yes, they do in fact exist here. So here we are, eight gringas and a chilena trying to get into Burbujas Club in Suecia, aker we already put down forty
lukas as a reservaTon deposit. And surprise surprise, they decide to charge us way over the fee they originally asked in the email reservaTon.
Long story short, there were eight gringas arguing with the club owner and asking if we could just pay the original fee. Go figure, the chilena with us was even a lawyer, yet the owner basically tells us “too bad, so sad” and we are on our way without our deposit back and no naked strippers in sight. Needless to say, none of us will ever go there again and we may or may not have stolen their balloon display outside the club to implement into our pictures everywhere else during the night.
So what is a group of BacheloreXe-‐enthused Gringas to do, when strippers are taken out of
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Soltera in Santiago: The Bachelorette, Chilean StyleWritten by Soltera in Santiago
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the equaTon? Drink and dance the night away, of course. And that is exactly what we did unTl the rest of the night became such a blur that the next morning my head felt like someone hit it with a pisco boXle. But…I do remember some key moments here and there.
At one point, we took a drunken picture with a paco on the corner who we also aXempted to convince to go back to the strip club with us so we could get in. Fail. We rolled into Bar ConsTtucion someTme during the night and somehow persuaded massive groups of people to start chanTng the BacheloreXe’s first name, Josie. This was then followed up by one of the girls in the group drawing taXoos saying “Josie” encircled by a heart on a mulTtude of random people throughout the night. What kills me, is when my friend would ask if she could draw a taXoo on them they were like…“obvio! Por que no?!”
Later on, we ended up at Mito Urbano which is where, I’m preXy sure, we started to lose girls right and lek in our own version of BacheloreXe Survivor. People ended up making out on the dance floor, going home with someone, or going home throwing up. Aker managing to gather up a few of the stragglers, we end up leaving the club where we stumbled down the street, which is not easy to do in heels, believe me.
All of a sudden, a group of excited and random Chilenos start chanTng, “Josie! Josie!“ I’m preXy sure a passerby asked, “Que es un Josie?” or “What’s a Josie?“ And how did these random people we didn’t recognize at all even know her? Well, they all had her name taXooed on their arm with a heart. Completely normal.
Finally, and don’t ask me how we got here, we ended up at a female strip club since we couldn’t get into the male one. And I’m preXy sure as soon as we walked in you could hear a pin drop as everyone turned and looked at us…f-‐awkward. I don’t think they have female clients very oken. But it must have been a preXy good Tme because I do recall one of our group members geyng up on stage and showing us how it’s done, to which the club owners(this Tme around) were completely supporTve about. In fact, I think the “clients” were more interested in what the heck we were doing there in comparison to the strippers.
At about 5:30 a.m., we classily made our way home. And of course, no bacheloreXe party would be complete without a hung over breakfast, so we dragged our buXs to Café Melba aker a few hours of drunken slumber for some blueberry pancakes, french toast, and bacon. Highly recommended by the way! Was is a $h*tshow? Why, yes, yes it was. But it’s a night I almost never forgot. Now, for the wedding… ILC
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