Fuente de Soda: Schop, Cortado, Completo, Cueca Brava & Buddy Richard…

Quick: where was this picture taken?

It’s a pretty safe bet that there’s only one country on Earth that this picture could have been taken.

Do you know?

There are plenty of clues here… Keywords like Fuente de Soda, Schop, Completo, and Buddy Richard are a dead giveaway to the country…
Cueca Brava even provides clues to the city.

Is it clear yet?

Chile of course… that was a no-brainer. But congrats if you named the city as Valparaíso—and quadruple points if you knew the street! (O’Higgins!)

So, for those of you still in the dark… What were the clues? Let’s go through them one by one:

Fuente de soda: a literal translation of the North American “soda fountain,” although in practice, they tend to be more of a type of sandwich shop, rather than the typical ice cream and soda shop that was so popular in the US in the 50s and 60s. For example, I have never seen them serve an ice cream soda (or a banana split or even a sundae), but they do serve beer (schop).

Escudo: One of Chile’s favorite national beers.

Schop: Draft beer. Places that sell schops are often called “schoperías.” As far as I know this is pretty standard Chilensis for a frosty (or not) mug.

Café (express / cortado): Most Chileans tend to drink instant coffee at home (Nescafé, sometimes referred to by purists as “no-es-café” (it is not coffee), has a definite corner on this large market) When they go out, they drink “café café” (coffee-coffee) and say “vale la redundancia” (it bears repeating) to explain that this is no regular coffee (which would be Nescafé) but rather REAL coffee.  And it will probably come in a very small (demitasse) cup and often includes a small glass of soda water and a couple of little butter cookies on the side.
The whole coffee vs Nescafé thing warrants an entry of its own… it’ll happen one of these days.

In the meantime know that if you go to a coffee shop they’ll ask if you want “express” (espresso), cortado (café con leche), or capucchino (don’t be fooled by the name—this version comes with a ton of whipped cream).

Completo: Chilean hot dog topped with an abundance of mayonnaise, (see A Hotdog is Not a Completo).

Menú: You might think that a menu is a list of everything a restaurant has to offer. But you’d be wrong. If you ask for the menu, the waiter will be happy to recite the list of daily specials. If you want to see the full list, you’d better ask for the carta.

Colación: When it comes to lunch, Chileans seem to make a very clear distinction between almuerzo, which is the word we all learned in Spanish class for the midday meal, and colación. The term colación is used in relation to the quick-ish lunch that is eaten at school or work, while almuerzo is the leisurely meal eaten at home.

Cueca Brava: Also called cueca chora or cueca urbana, this is the more bohemian side of the traditional Chilean cueca (the national dance, by the way). Valparaíso vies for the title of king of the cueca. (See Choro el Piernal de la Cueca Chora, and while you’re at it, go ahead and take a look at September-style cuecas at Chile’s Fiestas Patrias: Fondas for September).

Buddy Richard: Chilean singer-song-writer and early pop star Ricardo Roberto Toro Lavín created his stage name by from Buddy Holly and the “Englishification” of his given name Ricardo. Born in 1943, his heyday was in the 1960s and early 1970s, but as this sign shows, still performs on a pretty regular basis.

So how’d you do? Did you know the inside tips to Chile?

Sandro: Adios to a Legend

Sandro Album: Después de Diez Años (1973)

Latin America is in mourning today. Argentine singer Roberto Sánchez—much better known as Sandro—has died. His fans waited in long lines outside the National Congress in Buenos Aires tonight to say their final goodbyes, and the government has announced that the building will remain open all night to accommodate the millions who have made the trip to honor their hero.

The dark and steamy “Latin Elvis” began his singing career in the 1960s and has driven his mostly female fans wild for more than 40 years. Tonight’s news showed these aging fans, or “Nenas de Sandro,” grandchildren now in tow (as well as many impersonators), clutching prized photos and mementos, weeping in the streets, outside his home, and waiting in the searing sun (followed by evening rain) to file past his coffin.

Born in Buenos Aires in 1945, Sandro was one of Latin America’s first singers to venture into the field of rock, although he later developed his own melodramatic-romantic style of very latino love songs and ballads. In his early years he was inspired by Elvis Presley—and dressed in tight pants and a ruffled shirt, he took his idol’s quiver and shake to heights Presley never dreamed of. Check out the action—from twitching toe to writhing torso—in the opening segment of his 1975 performance of his hit song “Rosa Rosa” in Viña del Mar…

I’ve been hearing about Sandro since I first met my husband, who told me the news with a long face this morning. How he began his career as a young teenager in the 1960s and was huge in the 1970s, how he was known as El Gitano (the Gypsy) for his sultry dark and handsome look, what a great voice he had, how romantic his songs were, how many people swore they fell in love to the sound of his voice and the words to his songs . In fact, the Guachacas blog posted a piece in his honor tonight that said:

How many Chileans owe their very existence to Sandro’s seductive powers? He is one of the few people responsible for our own baby boom in a decade in which freedom and romanticism played hide and seek. (translation mine)

Sandro in "Gitano" (1970)

I have also been told (repeatedly) how he wrote all his own songs, recorded 52 albums, and starred in some 16 movies over the course of his 4-decade career. And then there’s the part where his fans haunted him day and night until he finally built a bunker-like complex in Banfield outside of Buenos Aires and hadn’t left his house more than 3 times in 10 years. And how he smoked 4 packs a day and still managed to keep his voice,  how in later years he adapted a special microphone with a tube that blew oxygen to his mouth so he could keep singing despite his ever-worsening emphysema, and how he was on a waiting list for a lung transplant.

He finally had his surgery—a heart and lung transplant—in Mendoza in November. His Nenas and other fans formed and joined “prayer chains” (cadenas de oración) for his health. At first his recovery seemed to go well and hopes were high, but he took a turn for the worse. At 8:40 PM on Monday, January 4, 2010, Sandro, aged 64, made news for the last time.

RIP / QEPD (Que en Paz Descanse) Roberto Sánchez—Sandro—Sandro de América—el Elvis Argentino—el Gitano—el Hombre de la Rosa, (August 19, 1945–January 4, 2010).

Want to know more about Sandro?

Watch the news over the next few days, the TV (at least here in Latin America) will be full of stories, biographies, documentaries, and old movies in his honor. You’ll find dozens of his songs on You Tube or take a look at Wiki: Sandro de América, for starters.

Sigall’s Surprise: Classical Guitar Competition ends on unexpected note

One of the things about competitions is that they are prone to surprises and upsets. They don’t always turn out as expected and often not as desired. Proof enough was the very unexpected twist of events at Saturday night’s final round of the Dr. Luis Sigall Classical Guitar Competition in Viña del Mar. (See “Classical Guitar in Viña del Mar: 36th Dr. Luis Sigall Competition” for information leading up to the finals).

Eighteen young guitarists from 12 countries were invited to participate in this prestigious competition. Eight made the semi-finals, and the 3 finalists, Marco Sartor of Uruguay, Sebastian Montes of Chile, and Daniela Rossi of Argentina, performed with orchestra on Saturday night.

Marco Sartor, 30, of Uruguay

The finalists were assigned the piece they would play.

Luck of the draw.

Marco Sartor was the first to take the stage and performed Concierto para guitarra y pequeña orquesta, by Héitor Villa-Lobos of Brazil. His execution was flawless, but unfortunately his guitar was drowned out by the orchestra, and even during the solo passages it was hard to hear, a fact that the judges neither missed nor dismissed.

Sebastian Montes, 30, of Chile

Sebastián Montes followed with Fantasía para un gentil hombre, by Spanish composer Joaquín Rodrigo. He played beautifully and moved the audience such that they applauded until he returned for a second bow.

I am not impartial. He is my favorite. We, his family, were there “en patota.”

Daniela Rossi, 25, of Argentina

Daniela Rossi closed the show with the most famous of all pieces for guitar and orchestra: Joaquín Rodrigo’s Aranjuez. She played with confidence and personality, and those in the know commented on her creative interpretation.

Intermission. Nerves. Tension.

The audience voted for their favorite.
Smokers smoked.
Hair was combed; lipstick reapplied.
The evening’s 3 stars paced.
The public congratulated them.
Some asked for a photo or autograph.

Nerves.

The remaining 15 participants speculated.
The musicians in the audience opined.
Everyone commented.
What was taking so long?

Tension.

More pacing.
More smoking.
More commenting.

Time drags on–3 0 minutes… 45… an hour–and this can only mean one thing: the jury is not in agreement.

The lights flash, we return to our seats. One look at the jury, now on stage, and we know. They have done serious battle. Our hearts begin to sink.

The usual round of speeches begins. Why is it that every speaker has to repeat interminable lists of Illustrious Toms, Esteemed Dicks and Honorable Harrys, along with their mothers and brothers and cousins and important neighbors? All the blustering blah-blah must have added at least another 20 minutes to the already torturous suspense.

Finally, the awards:

Best Chilean non-finalist Award: Renato Serrano (29) (trip for 2 to Laguna San Rafael)

Audience Favorite: Sebastián Montes (Yay, Seba!)

3^rd Prize: Marco Sartor… surprised murmurs…

2^nd Prize: Sebastián Montes… shocked audience response…

1^st Prize: Daniela Rossi… stunned

Sartor and Montes were far and away the favorites going into–and coming out of–this event. Those who had been following the competition considered it a toss-up for first and second. The final outcome was completely unexpected and frankly, unexplainable.

And with that, I will refrain from further comment, lest I be accused of sour grapes. Not the case. There is much to be said about the outcome of this event, but I will wait for others more qualified and less involved to say it… while I bide my time, mulling this mystery and weighing my words.

El Mercurio: “Un duro round vivió la final de “Dr. Luis Sigall“

El Mercurio de Valparaíso: “La compleja votación en la final del Dr. Sigall“

El Mercurio de Valparaíso: “Final de “Dr. Luis Sigall” envuelto en la polémica”

Classical Guitar in Viña del Mar: 36th Dr. Luis Sigall competition

Click for ticket information

Attention all Classical Guitar Lovers!

One of the many charms of Chile’s Viña del Mar (in addition to beaches, casinos, and lovely old homes) is its annual classical music competition, the Concurso Internacional de Ejecución Musical Dr. Luis Sigall. This invitation-only, all-expense paid event is considered to be among the most prestigious in the world of classical guitar in which talented young musicians compete with their peers from around the world. The instrument rotates, and guitar appears once every four years… and 2009 is our year!

This year’s 18 contestants arrived on Friday, Nov 6 from Argentina (1). Australia (1), Bosnia (1), Croatia (1), Germany (2), Israel (1), Korea (1), Mexico (1), Russia (1), United States (1), and Uruguay (1), and 6 from Chile. Eight of these talents, ranging in age from 21 to 30, passed on to the semi-finals, and just three—all latinos—will vie for the top place title tomorrow, Saturday, November 14, at 7:00 PM in Viña’s Teatro Municipal.

The three finalists are:

Marco Sartor, Daniela Rossi, Sebastián Montes

María Daniela Rossi, 25, of Argentina, who will perform Joaquín Rodrigo’s famous Aranjuez

Sebastian Montes, 30, of Chile: Joaquín Rodrigo’s Fantasía para un gentilhombre

Marco Sartor, 30, of Uruguay: Concierto para guitarra y pequeña orquesta, by Héitor Villa-Lobos

Winning is not just a matter of a trophy and an attention-getting line on a resume. No sir. The stakes are high indeed:

• 1^st prize is $10,000 USD, a trophy, plus a minimum of four concerts (solo and with orchestra) in Chile during 2010
• 2^nd prize is $4,000 and trophy
• 3^rd prize is $2,000

And now, for the best part of all—full disclosure—I have an invested interest in the outcome of this event… I’m not rooting for the Chilean candidate solely out of adopted national pride. I am very proud to say that Sebastian Montes is my step-son!

So…  Go! Seba Go!

For tickets and reservations: 32-268-1739

For more information, see:

Chile’s Fiestas Patrias: Fondas for September

Another major part of Chile’s Fiestas Patrias—Independence Day celebrations—are the “fondas.” Also called “ramadas” because they are often made with branches (ramas) these temporary fairs are set up in parks all over the country for about 10 days of food, games, drinking, dancing, crafts of all sorts, and general good times to be had. Some of the bigger (and/or more rural) ones have rodeos and most will have cueca contests.  There are the municipal versions as well as some of the more popular ones such as the now-famous “Yein Fonda” (which in Chilean sounds just like the actress) and the Guachaca version full of cueca chora.

Fondas kick off the weekend before the September 18^th holiday and close up the Sunday following, although they sometimes reappear as “18 Chico” the following weekend.

Girl in traditional flowered "huasa" dress buys a treat from the organ grinder

They are very family oriented by day, although by no means cheap. Entrance fees can vary widely from a luca or so ($1000 pesos, about $1 USD) to $10,000 pesos for some of the more upscale versions with more bands. And once inside, prices of everything are considerably higher than anywhere else in town.

Price doesn’t seem to matter much though. Families save up to go (reminds me of going to the State Fair as a kid). Organ grinders crank away and the kids line up to buy their pinwheels, slinkies, glow-lights, and other souvenir treats.

Magicians and other entertainers draw crowds

The food is one of the biggest attractions.

This menu for an informal sit-down restaurant offers all the favorites: pork, cazuela, salads, soft drinks, choripan (grilled sausage on a roll), empanadas (savory baked beef or fried cheese pastries), anticuchos (skewered meats), beer, chicha (a partially fermented and very sweet almost-wine), french fries, mote con huesillo (a wheat and peach drink/dessert), terremoto (rustic wine with pineapple sherbet), wine, coffee, or tea.

Pork ribs on the grill, empanadas in the oven

Fried cheese empanadas

Snack food that can be eaten out of hand while strolling through the fonda is perhaps the best of all.

A fan of choripan (note the anticuchos on the grill behind him)

Cueca in Providencia-Fonda at the Parque Inés de Suarez

As night falls and the level of alcohol consumed rises, the families tend to clear out and leave room for the revelers who come for the shows, dancing, and more booze. Amazing quantities of chicha, beer, and wine  are consumed. In fact, this is Chile’s biggest drinking holiday, much akin to New Year’s Eve in the US.

It seems that 2009 is the year of the Cueca Chora (also called Cueca Brava). Young people who were long reticent to twirl their handkerchiefs and stomp their feet have taken new pride in the national dance.

White handkerchiefs fill the air when Las Niñas take the stage

For more on September 18 Fiestas Patrias activities, see “El Dieciocho“.

Concón, Chile: Lookin’ good after 468 years! (Part 2)

Concón, one of Chile’s popular beach resorts, goes all out with murgas, comparsa, cueca, cumbia, ranchera, diablada, and bailes pascuenses to celebrate its 468 years of history.

Candy Vendor, Concón, August 2009

Sunday, August 30, 2009.  The party continues. Last night Concón celebrated its 468^th anniversary with influences from Brazil (samba-esque Comparsas), Colombia (cumbia), Mexico (rancheras and Marco Antonio Solis impersonator), but today it’s all about Chile, with dances from the north, south, center, and even Rapa Nui (which you may think is called Easter Island). (See part 1 of Concón Celebrates here).

But first a bit about the motives behind all this festivity and pageantry. Yes, you knew it was coming… just a little bit of history.

468 years. That’s a long time in the New World. As a point of reference, New York City’s disputed founding date centers somewhere around 1625. Here’ we’re talking about August of 1541, which is pretty impressive considering Pedro de Valdivia had only claimed the territory for the Crown a few months earlier, in February of the same year! It seems they were extracting gold from the Estero Marga Marga (which is now in Viña del Mar) and set up a shipyard in Concón to build a brigantine (a fancy 2-masted sailing ship) to get the haul back to the homeland. Good idea; not so good results… it turns out that there was a mutiny of sorts and the ship got hijacked along with the gold and that was the end of that, but the shipyard continued to operate, along with the Hacienda de Concón there in what was known as Puerto Concón.

Other highlights in its long history include the bloody Battle of Concón in 1891 during a Civil War—approximately half of the 8000 men were killed or injured. Happier times lay ahead, however, and it was named a comuna (municipality) under Limache in 1899 and later switched to fall under Viña del Mar, and only recently, in 1995, did it become the fully independent Ilustre Municipalidad de Concón.

Concón has been a popular seaside vacation spot since 1917 and expanded greatly after the coastal route from Viña to Concón was completed in 1930. The most recent census (2002) showed a population of 32,273 people, pretty much divided miti-miti (half and half) men and women.

Want to know more? You can find plenty more information at the city’s website: www.concon.cl

Ok, so now for what you’re really here for… the pictures!

The show started in the late afternoon with a group of seniors dancing traditional folkloric huaso-and-china style cueca

Señoras preparing to dance cueca in Concón, August 2009

Dancing the Cueca, Concón, August 2009

Next came the Grupo Folklórico Here-Taina, which celebrates the culture and dance of Rapa Nui, the Chilean island territory better known elsewhere as Easter Island.

Grupo Folklórico Here-Taina performs dances from Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

Jaime Olivares of the Grupo Folklórico Here-Taina

This is a dance group from Concón that performs dances based on those of northern Chile.

Unfortunately I do not know their name (If you know, please tell me so I can give them their due credit!)

Dancers from Concón

As night fell, the guest group Fantasía Folklórica Chilena de la Comuna de Maipú performed a “Diablada,” a traditional dance of Andean cultures in northern Chile as well as Peru and Bolivia. In Chile it is best known in association with the celebration of La Tirana on July 16.

La Diablada (northern Chile), Fantasía Folklórica Chilena de la Comuna de Maipú

The show wrapped up with a lively round of cueca and blasts of chaya (confetti).

The grand finale with confetti, Fantasía Folklórica Chilena de la Comuna de Maipú

Choro el Piernal de Cueca Chora

La Cueca is cool.
Forget the whole huaso bit and the women in the silly square dance type dresses, we’re talking la Cueca urbana, la Cueca brava… la Cueca CHORA!

Quilombo Ediciones 2009

After years of having gym class-style dancing shoved down their throats at any and every cultural event, there’s a quickly growing movement among Chileans to take back the “real” cueca. The cueca that always existed.
The cueca that the  “rotos chilenos” proudly danced in the chinganas, fondas, and ramadas where people from the city and the port went to let their hair down, swill some chicha, hoist a few pipeños, sing a bit, and dance a lot. And that dance was the cueca. A dance that can take flirting to the edge of social mores—without touching—and that when done well, eye-to-eye and with just the right whisk of the pañuelo, turn of the head, tilt of the hip, and stomp of the foot, can bring a flush to the cheeks and set the heart aflutter.

The problem is that until just recently, that spirit of the pueblo cuequero was all but lost, buried under a 1960s wave of imported rock and then appropriated (and toned down) by the military right in the 1970s-80s in an attempt to impose, instill, and imbue “true national values” with an official and state-sanctioned version that involves a manly poncho-wearing huaso patrón who flirts with and wins over a demure and oddly dressed woman called a “china”… Yeah… exactly… No wonder no one I know ever wanted anything to do with it!

La cueca chora, step by step. Illustration by Alberto Montt

But there’s been a movement of late to take back Chile. To take pride in the real Chile. To take a stand and raise the pañuelo.
¡Éjale compadre!, put those hands together chiquillos, clap-clap, clap-clap, and tiki tiki tiki…
Get a guitar, a pandero (tambourine), and a voice and you’re good to go.
Find an accordion and there are definitely some hot times ahead. And there you are…. The cueca is hot and Chile is cool! ¡Chile es choro and la cueca es más chora aún !

Okay, so there’s a lot more to be said about how I feel about Chile in general and the cueca in particular… but all this has been a long-winded wind-up to the real topic of this post, a new book on how to dance the cueca chora.

Editor Camila Rojas (left), author Araucaria Rojas (right) © MSnook 2009

Araucaria Rojas, daughter of the Gran Guaripola himself Dióscoro Rojas (drawing a blank? You’ve got homework: go study up at the Guachacas web site) and who is now finishing up a degree in history, just launched her book “Piernal de Cueca Chora” a guide to everything you need to hold your own amongst the choros, from the color of your pañuelo to just how high to hike your skirt.  ‘Piernal,’ in case you’re wondering, is one of those words invented by necessity because a ‘manual’ refers to something done with the hands, but in this case it’s the legs (piernas) following all the steps that are so explicitly described in words and images (illustrator Alberto Montt of “Dosis Diario” fame weighs in with his signature style). Cousin Camila Rojas edited the book for her newly-formed publishing company Quilombo Ediciones and came up with some pretty clever touches like resolving the twisted spine problem (English books write the title down one side of the spine and Spanish books, the other) by wrapping the book—along with a nifty stamped pañuelo—in a box that allowed her to print the spine in both directions! (¡Bien hecho Camila!).

Chilean journalist /Guachaca Queen Mónica Pérez

The Santiago launch was held last night (Sept 1) at the 100% chileno bar Piojera (could there ever have been any other option?) with a dedication by the paternal Guaripola and the reigning royal Guachacas Queen Mónica Pérez and King Ricarte Soto, among others, followed by a few patitas de cueca, and a healthy round of terremotos and pichanga. Be sure to check out Eileen’s  bearshapedsphere version of the evening—she can even show you food & drink pictures because by that time I was much too busy sipping and munching to take pictures. An excellent way to kick of this month of fiestas a la chilena!

Araucaria and Dióscoro Rojas dancing cueca

Araucaria and Dióscoro Rojas (© MSnook 2009)

Elvis Junior, alegrando mi día

No hay nada como un poco de Elvis -es decir, el mismísimo Elvis Junior chileno- para alegrar una tarde santiaguina.   Click here for English

Elvis Junior and his amazing homemade 1-man band

Santiago tiene su cuota de personajes, esas personas de la calle que todo el mundo reconoce, aquellos que son parte esencial del paisaje urbano y que aportan una dimensión humana que hace de esta ciudad un Santiago inequívocamente santiaguino.

(Foto: Elvis Junior, el increíble hombre orquesta casera)

Vivir en una gran ciudad tiene sus altibajos, pero hay algunas cosas capaces de transformar un día cualquiera en uno especial. Una de ellas es Elvis Junior, un personaje “total” que aparece en los lugares más insólitos de la ciudad (y afuera), tocando su singular y bien casera batería, hecha de baldes, ollas, latas, tubos, elásticos y todo un montón de objetos común-y-corrientes que él mismo transforma en un tesoro de la percusión. Y es diferente cada vez que lo veo. Siempre que me encuentro con él, cualquiera sea mi estado de ánimo anterior, es capaz de hacerme sonreír. ¿Cómo no?

(Foto: Elvis Junior en la Alameda frente a la Biblioteca Nacional, Santiago)

Elvis Junior on Alameda in front of the Biblioteca Nacional, Santiago

Ayer estaba acercándome a la Alameda, cerca de la Biblioteca Nacional y oí su sonido característico: un ritmo frenético al son de sus tambores de bidones, platillos y un estridente jadeo de un kazoo hecho de un tubo de plástico, alternando con su característicos gritos de estrofas sacadas de antiguas canciones, olvidadas ya desde hace décadas.

Elvis Junior me alegró el día. Agarré mi cámara y corrí hacia al bandejón central de la Alameda (al parecer tiene una predilección por tocar entre las pistas de la calle más transcurrida de Santiago). Como siempre, me saludó con su gran sonrisa, carente de algunos dientes. Yo por mi parte, le devolví la sonrisa junto a una buena propina. Seguí a mi casa feliz de ser parte de esta gran ciudad.