Late summer days around Lago Panguipulli in southern Chile can be bright, crystal sharp, and quiet. Serene would be the best way to describe the day in early March when three buddies, from a Peace Corps group that arrived in Chile fifty years ago, shuffled
De Pellin y Coihue ! the sign says atop the entrance to a most well-placed restaurant overlooking the shimmering waters of Lago Ranco in southern Chile. The name highlights the noblest of Chilean trees, the roble and the coigue, both members of the Nothofagus genus that
Within a period of ten days in early February, the spirits of two magical figures, La Candelaria and Guadalupe del Carmen, turn the small village of Chanco into “Celebration Center”, filling its streets with religious celebrants and aficionados of the Mexican ranchera. These two personalities seem,
One night several years ago Luz Celia Lienqueo Castillo had a peuma…a type of dream the Mapuche believe is not just a vision but a type of premonition that must come true. Luz’s peuma described in great detail the small piece of land she was
Wool, clay, wood, metal, stone, and horse hair, all materials that are readily available in Chile, and hence they are the basis for most of traditional Chilean artisan products. Late last year, while the presidential campaign was absorbing most of the airtime in Santiago’s public
A year ago, Ximena and I waited expectantly in Santiago, Chile, for the two-week visit of our friends Mick and Cece. Mick is a friend from college and a Delta Upsilon fraternity brother of mine. Cece is a saint, mainly for staying with Mickey all
Finally, I have met Naya. Attempting to meet Nadeschda Del Rio is really why I ended up tossed out of bed, onto the floor at 3:34 AM in the Hotel Alonzo de Ercilla over a year ago in Concepcion, Chile, during that terrible 8.8 earthquake.
When I was a young man, serving with the Peace Corps in Chile, I discovered “Jauja”! I remember once standing on the rocky shore of Lago Villarrica in southern Chile, looking out over that beautiful emerald lake with the smoking, snowcapped volcano in the background.
[ NOTE: At times a blog becomes quite personal as it is being written even though it may not have started out that way. This is one of those. DJ] I grew up as a young boy without the benefit of one of life’s most
Chile and Chileans have modernized a huge amount in the past 40 years, but what persists with characteristic Chilean determination is their strong link back to a time when rural life was more the norm and rural customs prevailed. In spite of the fact that