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(12/01/09 5:21am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>SANTIAGO, Chile - In one corner, we have Jorge Arrate, white hair standing on end and full of energy, representing the Communist Party of Chile. Across from him stands Eduardo Frei, looking sharp with his graying hair slicked back, representing the Christian Democrat Party. In this boxing ring, there are not two but four combatants – a surprise to the U.S. onlookers. In the third corner, we have Marco Enriquez-Ominami, receiving a cry of support from the crowd as the popular Independent. And finally, in the fourth corner, we have Sebastian Pinera, stunning the crowd with his smile and thumbs-up sign, representing the National Renewal Party. The whistle is about to be blown and all of the candidates have their punching gloves on, trying to win the support of the Chilean crowd.The 2009 presidential election “boxing match” is drawing nearer and nearer. Discussions are getting more heated, cars with megaphones can be seen announcing support for candidates and stickers, papers and posters are impossible to avoid while walking down the streets of Santiago. On Dec. 13, Chileans will vote for one of the four candidates to replace current president Michelle Bachelet.Polls have named Pinera as the popular vote right now, with Frei trailing slightly behind.However, in an interview with La Nacion, Carla Lehmann, a former 15-year member of the CEP surveying agency, said these polls are not necessarily an accurate prediction of what will actually happen in the election in December. This is in large part because a good portion of the poorer population cannot take part in the survey. This cuts visible support for la Concertacion, which is supporting Frei in this election. Lehmann also mentioned that although Ominami has not had the support like Frei and Pinera in these polls, it does not mean that he has no chance in the upcoming election.She goes on to say that she thinks the overwhelming amount of support for Ominami, a young candidate whose only past political experience includes being a deputy and proposing many bills that passed, shows that Chile is looking for a change. By contrast, Pinera, Frei and Arrate all have significantly more experience on their political resumes. Frei served as the president of Chile from 1994 to 2000, was the president of the Senate from 2006 to 2008 and is currently the senator of Los Rios. Pinera ran for president in 2005 against Bachelet, and the election was so close they had to have a secondary election in January between the two. He was also elected as a member of the Senate and was head of Hernan Buchi´s presidential campaign in 1989. Pinera would be the first billionaire to be president in Chile if elected. Finally, Arrate served as minister under both former presidents Patricio Aylwin and Eduardo Frei. Before this, between 1973 and 1987, he lived in exile during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet and served as the secretary of the Committee of Chilean Exiles. The citizens of Chile are eagerly anticipating Dec. 13, the deciding day for who will be the next leader of the Republic of Chile.
(11/11/09 9:27pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>SANTIAGO, Chile - Our voices rang out the traditional “This Land is Your Land” song that many of us learned as kids. Maybe it wasn’t the most appropriate song to sing to a group of Mapuche Indians, who for many years have fought with the Chilean government on human rights and land issues. For our luck, they did not know English, and we simply explained that one of the songs was about love and friendship within the nation, without being specific. “When you came to our village, you thought it might be dangerous ... that the Mapuche were violent people, didn’t you? You were nervous that there would be violent riots with things being set on fire, weren’t you?” An elderly Mapuche woman asked this in front of a group of attentive CIEE students visiting her house in Temuco, Chile. The media portrayal of the conflict is very much skewed, she said. People who have visited her in the past have been surprised by the serenity of the land and the welcoming arms that have greeted them at the farm. The Mapuche in general are very peaceful people – they like to keep to themselves and are very much nature-centered with their religion and in their ways of living. However, fighting for their human rights, against poverty and estate ownership for their people has given them a bad reputation in the news despite the fact that there have been no fatalities on the part of the Mapuche. Here’s a recount of recent violence.– Aug. 31: A uniformed police officer killed 24-year-old Jaime Mendoza Collío, one of several Mapuche who were occupying an estate in the north of the Araucania region.– Sept. 4: A landowner fired a shotgun at a group of Mapuche who began starting fires on his property, injuring at least three of them. Masked men later burned down a nearby warehouse, destroying agricultural supplies worth more than $20,000.– Oct. 1: Felipe Marilla, age 10, was injured during a police raid of the Mapuche community Temucuicui.– Oct. 16: Adriana Loncomilla Machi, a Mapuche spiritual leader, was found on the ground after being beaten by police during a raid.The region of Araucania, also known as the southern Region IX of Chile and at the forefront of the violence, is much in need of assistance. It is home to 30 percent of the 800,000 Mapuche within Chile. It fell in 2008 to the position of last place in the country in economic effectiveness, averaging a whopping .21, compared to the region of Santiago, which comes closer to .86. According to the Santiago Times, “Researchers cited shrinking access to credit, the worsening quality of roads and infrastructure, and limited scientific training in Region IX as reasons for its falling behind.” The unemployment rate is 14.1 percent in the Araucania area and even as high as 17 percent in areas such as the Malleco province. Several programs have been named to help the Mapuche but are often empty promises. Current Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, in fact, started a program called Re-Conocer (“to recognize”), which was supposed to distribute land to 115 Mapuche communities. Now, at the end of her term, only 36 of these have actually received land. If Sebastian Pinera wins the upcoming presidential election in December, assistance to the Mapuche would decrease because of his beliefs that the government has not been tough enough on “Mapuche-wrongdoers,” and the unrest is simply causing more problems.
(10/28/09 4:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>If Chile were a person, its jaw would have dropped to the floor Oct. 17.For the first time in history, Chile is going to the Olympics in gymnastics. Earning 15.225 points, Tomas Gonzalez earned seventh place in the World Championship of Gymnastic Arts to qualify for the London 2012 Olympics. He is the first Chilean gymnast to reach such a high level of competition and is the only gymnast from Chile going to the 2012 Olympics.The road to success has been a long one. He said in an interview afterward with Una Nueva Manana that he hopes his victory will help change the infrastructure of athletics in Chile. He has struggled a lot to achieve what he has, and he has felt discouraged at times by the obstacles standing in his way. This includes not having adequate gym facilities in which to practice within his own country.Gonzalez thanked ADO (the Olympic Sports association of Chile) for helping him during the past winter to prepare for competitions by using the Flamengo Club in Brazil. However, he said he hopes the press exposure for his success in the qualifications for Olympics will inspire changes within the country for the future of gymnastics, although these changes may be expensive. An adequate gym facility would cost around $150,000, but a change like this would be key to the future of Chilean gymnastics.Despite his struggles and discouragement, Gonzalez always returned to training in gymnastics – his passion. With the help of his trainer, Joel Guiterrez, he is now one of the best gymnasts in the world. In fact, there aren’t more than 10 gymnasts in the world who can achieve the level of skill necessary to land a score of 17 in executing a jump in one of these competitions. Gonzalez is one of them. On Oct. 13, in the preliminary rounds of the championship, Gonzalez came out in fourth place with a score of 15.575, behind Japanese Kohei Uchimura (15.775), Romanian Marian Dragulescu (15.725) and Chinese Zou Kai (15.675). However, the big surprise of the competition was Gonzalez’ defeat of Brazilian rival, Diego Hypolito, who was eliminated with his score of 15.400.In the final floor competition, Gonzalez opened with an open-piked Arabian double and ended with a triple twist with a step. He continued with a strong performance and qualified for the 2012 Olympics in London with a seventh place finish.
(10/22/09 4:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>SANTIAGO, Chile - Tito “El Bambino,” the famous 28-year-old Puerto Rican reggaeton singer, swooned the crowd last Saturday at the Movistar Arena in Santiago. Four days after dancing it up in the White House with President Barack Obama, Tito gave Santiago its turn – 10,000 people came to see him perform music from his latest album, “La Patron,” which has been nominated for a Latin Grammy. “La Patron” is his third album and features tropical-sounding reggaeton characterized by its organized sounds and still fits under the category of “urban reggaeton.” It is a mix between reggaeton, the meringue, the bachata and a variety of tropical music. The album, released in March, has already gone platinum in the Untied States, selling 100,000 copies with chart toppers, “El Amor” and “Under.” He kicked off the concert with one of his most popular hits worldwide, “Mi cama huele a ti.” Besides the third-album toppers, the crowd also had fun dancing to some of his past hits, including “Siente el boom,” “El Tra” and “Sol, playa y arena,” all of which can still be heard playing in most of the discotecas of Santiago.Tito “El Bambino,” now with three successful solo albums, first received fame in 1998 as part of the Hector & Tito duo, one of the most sought-after duos in the reggaeton genre. They paved the way for future artists of Puerto Rico such as Tedo Calderon and Daddy Yankee, being the first to sell out at a large concert in Puerto Rico. After Tito perceived dishonesty from Hector, the pair split up and went solo. Tito signed with EMI Televisa, and with a collaboration of artists such as Daddy Yankee, Don Omar and Beanie Man, Tito produced his first solo album “Top of the Line” in April 2006 with 20 new songs. There were a number of featured hits, amongst them the most popular being “Caile” that got to be second on the Billboard Hot Latin charts. The album eventually went platinum, selling more than 200,000 copies.His second album, “It’s My Time,” was released in October 2007 and also grabbed international attention. The first single released was “Solo dime que si,” and it hit No. 9 on the Billboard Hot Latin Charts. Several others became very popular, including “El Tra” and “Sol, playa y arena” as heard in the concert on Saturday.This Saturday he is set to perform in New Orleans at the Sugar Mill Club.
(10/15/09 4:29am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>SANTIAGO, Chile - Last Saturday, Chile triumphed in a victory against Colombia that is now bringing them to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. This will be the eighth time that the team has been to the World Cup, and after not going for the past 12 years, Chileans went nuts with excitement Saturday. The Atanasio Girardot Stadium, filled to the brim with people, burst with the sound of screaming fans before, during and especially after the soccer game. It started at 6 p.m., and car horns were honked with every good play by Chile. After the team’s victory, shouting resonated in the streets for hours after the game. Families as well as the drunken masses in Plaza Italia swayed to their own singing, jumping up and down and shooting confetti in the air, most staying to meet and greet the players that were coming through the stadium at 6 a.m. the next morning. Nerves had been high at the beginning of the game for both teams. Arturo Vidal scored the first goal after a Colombia defence error. Colombia reared back with a well-aimed shot to tie the game.But Chile didn’t lose hope. Before half time, Waldo Ponce of Chile headed the ball into the back of the net from a pass from his teammate, Jorge Valdivia. After half time Chileans became nervous when Colombia came back with another goal to tie the game at 2, but the red uniforms came back with a fire, scoring two more goals to win the qualification game.Chile played its final game against Ecuador on Wednesday, even though Chile has already qualified for the World Cup. Futbol, or soccer, is no small thing in Chile, or in most of South America. Everyone watches the game. People make bets about who will end up winning, and many people grill out, or go bars or gather with friends or family to watch the game on TV. Energy is certainly at a high right now because of the success Chile has had this season.
(10/08/09 4:14am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>CALAMA, Chile – What is big, worth 30-40 million dollars, used in the northern part of Chile, and has to be replaced every single year? Answer: the biggest brand of Michelin tires that they produce. They are used on the trucks that drive through the Chuquicamata copper mine every day. It is easily their biggest expense every year. In fact, the 300-ton trucks themselves only cost $4 million. The Chuquicamata copper mine is one of the largest copper resources in the world. It is 4,700 meters long, 3,000 meters wide, and 1,000 meters deep, and it operates 24-7. Women are an integral component of the mine’s workforce. In fact, some of the trucks are only allowed to be driven by women because “there is a belief, whether it is true or not,” as put by our female guide, “that women are more careful drivers.” In the past, women had not been allowed to work in the open mine because of worker jealousy concerns. The thought was that they would cause problems and accidents in the mine.Dust flying in the air, it’s a wonder that the drivers can find their way around the curvy roads in the mine. The dustiest times are when there are explosions that break apart the rock which is later brought to the reduction area, where it is mixed with water and broken down to pieces about 0.3-millimeters wide. It then goes through several processes, including concentrator, smelting and refinery. The concentrator process separates the metals from the rock; smelting rids the substance of water impurities; and refinery purifies the substance even more. This is brought to port Mejillones and shipped all over the world.Water plays a great role in the workings of the Chuquicamata mine. First of all, being located in the middle of the desert, rain rarely comes. However, when it does, the result can be quite disastrous. For this reason, the workers have a good communication system for catastrophes like this. Also, channeling the necessary water for the copper process as well as for the workers is very expensive. In fact, the entire town had to move because it was more economical than trying to build a bunch of water channels to the new are they were mining in. Parts of the now ghost town can still be seen to the side of the mine. A new mine is getting ready to start working within the next few years called Mina Alice. In another 50 years, it is estimated that the copper from this area will run out though. It is unclear what will happen from there. It is a concern not only for the town of Calama but also for Chile’s economy, where 1/3 of its exports come from copper today.
(10/01/09 5:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Carrying a lit candle, Benjamin Ignacio O’Ryan Blazquez walked down the aisle of his incense-filled church on Sunday after his First Communion. At 10 years old, he, along with 30 other children in his grade at San Pedro Nolasco School, celebrated their First Communions. “It was nice ... And the wine was black but it tasted pretty good,” he said. The children at San Pedro Nolasco spent two years preparing for this day, which is typical for the Catholic churches in Santiago. They went to class with their priest for an hour and a half every Saturday – even during holidays and vacations. It is very important to the people of the Catholic church that the children understand what exactly Holy Communion is before receiving it. In these classes, like many in the states, they learned all about Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Last Supper and how communion is a time to remember and be thankful for what Christ has done for them. It is the Second Sacrament; the first is baptism.On Sunday, the boys and girls both wore their navy blue school uniforms. The girls had on plaid skirts and high socks, also wearing a crown of white flowers, signifying the innocence of their age. The boys had on long pants and held small prayer books. Like the boys and girls in the U.S. today, the girls used to wear long, beautiful, white dresses. However, in present-day Chile, Catholic churches changed this tradition to promote a sense of equality among everyone. It had often been obvious in the past which families carried more money than others. “There is only one church I know of where they still wear all white on communion days and that’s an English Catholic school where only the sons and daughters of ambassadors and very important people attend,” my host mother Sara Plaza said. “I think it’s better with the school uniforms. Everyone is equal and the class distinctions are less obvious. It’s better.” After the sermon, the kids lined up for their first communion as proud parents snapped pictures, people sang hymns and little kids crawled around the extremely crowded church. Afterward, the priest had all of the kids go to the altar as he said a prayer that they receive communion with thanksgiving. Finally, they all lit their candles and walked down the center aisle to the back of the church, where they then rejoined their families.After Benjamin received his First Communion and the service ended, all of his extended family gathered over lunch, wine, drinks and two different kinds of cake. They passed around his First Communion photos, taken weeks before with his parents and sister, as he ripped open the gifts his relatives had given him that were blessed during the church service. It was just like his birthday.
(09/25/09 4:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Last Friday, the streets of Santiago were alive with the screams and shouts of happy Chileans celebrating their 199 years of independence from Spain. Well, not exactly.Driving down the streets on that morning felt like being in a ghost town – none of the shops were open, very few cars were out and there was no one walking around. Chileans did celebrate their independence, but the anniversary was very low-key in Santiago, with the focus of the weekend on families. Although Friday was pretty mellow, Santiago was by no means silent during all of the days of Fiestas Patrias. Around 2 million of Chile’s 16.5 million people travel every year during the independence celebrations. Throughout the week and weekend, families have their own barbecues to celebrate Independence Day with their relatives; the rodeos are active, lined with tents and places to sit down and eat anticucho, empanadas and choripan; more than $50 million of meat is sold; and in every neighborhood of Santiago there is a “fonda” – a giant party every night with tons of artisan vendors, food and dancing.Besides Fiestas Patrias’ reputation for high numbers of people drunk on chicha, pisco sours, wine and beer, this holiday is very big on family time.The rodeos are not just centered around the talented riders pinning the bull against the wall (much less violent than the bullfighting witnessed in Spain), but there are all sorts of things to do there. Kids can ride ponies and buy spinning shiny disks to throw in the air when it’s dark out. The whole family can enjoy the lines of vendors selling candies, fruit drinks and alfajores, a typical Chilean dessert with caramel in the middle. People play Creole games similar to ones at carnivals in the U.S., such as trying to throw small rings onto the necks of bottles arranged in a pyramid. Finally, at the rodeos there are presentations of typical Chilean dances, such as the Cueca from central Chile, the Chilote from southern Chile, and others.These dances also had the dust flying on the floors at all of the fondas. Kids learn them in the schools, practicing them every day the few weeks before Fiestas Patrias. The Cueca is the most popular here in Santiago, because the city is in the central region of the country. The boys wear cowboy hats, flannel ponchos, riding boots and spurs, and the girls wear big, colorful dresses, many times with an apron. It is a dance mimicking the courtship of a hen and rooster – the handkerchiefs they wave above their heads symbolize the rooster’s comb. People of all ages participate, and those who dance in the Cueca competitions at the fondas can win a good amount of money. All in all, it is a good time to be with family.One taxi driver said, “Don’t go to Parque Nacional Bernardo O’Higgins – that’s where all the kids who can’t handle their alcohol go. It’s absolutely crazy. There are plenty of other places where the crowd is much more family-oriented.”
(09/16/09 4:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>SANTIAGO, Chile - Sept. 11 is a day of remembrance and commemoration for those who have died – including the former president of Chile. Surprised? This day not only carries significance for us in the United States but also for the people of Chile. Despite the 36 years since the death of President Salvador Allende, tensions still rise high in Chile on Sept. 11 and divide the people. For some, it is a day of commemoration and remembrance of the death of former President Allende. For others, it is a day of happiness and joy – the day that a new leader, Augosto Pinochet, came into power. Thirty-six years ago on Sept. 11, 1973, a military coup led by Pinochet overthrew President Allende. As the Palacio de la Moneda (the main government building of Santiago) was being stormed, President Allende committed suicide on the red velvet-lined couch by his desk. Allende was a Marxist Socialist elected democratically in November 1970. With the possible involvement of the Nixon administration, Pinochet took power that day. Little did anyone know Pinochet would become a fascist military dictator and his regime would commit all sorts of human rights violations until 1990, when he peacefully stepped down and democratic rule resumed in Chile.The history of Chile during the last 40 years is still a very sensitive issue today. Some Chileans believe that the torture and violations of human rights during the Pinochet regime never happened. Others say he was a good leader as long as you kept your mouth shut like you were supposed to. Others were deeply affected, having loved ones die during his regime, and are strongly against everything he represented. Therefore, this Sept. 11, the beautiful sunny weather could not mask the tension floating in the air. Each year at this time, it is particularly dangerous to be around the Palacio de La Moneda, the site of Allende’s death, or around the Cementerio General, where his tomb resides. The south side of town and La Ahumado, the central street of Santiago, are frequently the sites of protests. This year, one protest in particular got out of control. On the outskirts of Santiago, hundreds of hooded figures were blocking streets and setting bonfires. One young man, Alexis Rojas Garcia, 23, was shot in the head and killed during the commotion. It is unclear whether he was participating in the protest or if he was simply caught up in it. Four police officers were also hospitalized after trying to get things under control.Besides the protests, current President Michelle Bachelet gave a speech during a remembrance ceremony for former President Allende. Then she and Isabel Allende, daughter of the late leader, lay white roses on the couch he died on, which still remains intact in the Palacio de La Moneda.