Felices Fiestas Patrias

Are you ready for Fiestas Patrias? All of Chile has been gearing up for their independence day celebrations. Technically September 18th commemorates the primera junta, or when Chileans first gathered to discuss breaking away from Spain. They gained their independence at a later date, so September 18th techinically isn't independence day...but let's just call it that for translation's sake!

One of the best aspects of independence day is the food. Chileans celebrate with asados, or cookouts where they grill meat. I already feel stuffed from empanadas, choripan, and mote con huesillo. Chileans also play typical games like sack races, musical chairs, and three-legged races, but they have uniquely Chilean games as well. Many play with emboque, which is like ball in a cup but much harder, and trompos, where you wrap string around a top and throw it on the ground to make it spin. My students tried to teach me and it's much harder than it looks! 

Mote con huesillo- Peaches in juice
with grain that you eat at the bottom!

Choripan with pebre, a Chilean pico de gallo

Empanadas filled with beef, eggs, raisins

Emboque, Chilean ball in cup!

Trompo

Flying kites is also a traditional 18 de Septiembre event, and the younger students at my school sparkled the sky with their colorful kites. 

Dancing is also a huge part of Fiestas Patrias! At my school, the students practiced all semester to perform their dances for an Independence day celebration. Chile is a beautifully diverse country with lots of different cultures, and each culture is represented in a dance. For example, the national dance is the cueca. A man in traditional garb, the wasso, tries to win over his partner, the wassa. The girl flirts with him and the man tries to show off with fancy footwork to win her heart. If you have a handkerchief (which is a crucial element to the dance!), you can learn the basic footwork to dance cueca. What's difficult is jazzing it up and giving it your own style.

Las wassas

We also saw dances from the North of Chile which are heavily influenced by Peruvian and Bolivian culture. For example, the caporal, in which boys dance with bells on their boots, is a typical Bolivian dance. The caporal is a favorite among many Chileans because of its upbeat rhythm and power. Other dances included the pascuense, from Easter Island, which is very similar to Hawaian dances, and the mapuche, named after the indigenous people of the South of Chile.  

The ending of the caporal 

Mapuche

Pascuense

A dance from Northern Chile called tinkus. So many colors!

The little kids were adorable! Representing the Chilean Flag.

                   
Felices Fiestas Patrias!