Piñerisms 1: Marepoto & Tusunami

Chile’s new president, Sebastian Piñera, not only leans to the right like George Bush, but it seems he went to the same school of public speaking. Much to the glee of news buffs, language hawks, and yes, even T-shirt makers, Piñera delighted us all with a bit of unintended levity, not once, but twice, in the aftermath of the recent earthquake.

Chile Quake Wine People Project. Day 1 Chimbarongo

Wednesday, March 17. Day 1: Chimbarongo, Colchagua Valley

Friend and photographer Mari Correa and I set out on Wednesday, March 17 to begin our trip south to visit wineries in the earthquake zone. We are just beginning a project sponsored by Wines of Chile and this is the first of several such trips over the coming months to document what happened in the wineries and how the people—more than the companies—are coping today and where they’re heading tomorrow.

First stop: Viña Cono Sur in Chimbarongo.

Guest House at Viña Cono Sur

Viña Cono Sur has generously offered to put us up in their enormous 100-year-old guest house for a couple nights while we explore the Colchagua Valley. We arrive late and Brand Manager Claudia Pfau is waiting for us. The elegant adobe house has remarkably little damage. The entire first floor was refurbished three years ago and withstood the force of the earthquake with just minor plaster cracking. The second floor, which was not refinished and is not currently used, did not fare as well, but its damage was non-structural and can be easily repaired.

We settle in, open a nice bottle of wine, and start to unwind in the large living room before heading off to bed. As we swap the inevitable “where were you when it happened” stories and ease in to we-are-not-in-Santiago mode, we suddenly hear/feel a rumble-rattle from the south side of the house. It roars through, gives us a good shake, and vwhoom… out it goes to the north.

Whoa! What the…?

Iniciación a los 8,8 grados

The following is an article originally commissioned by Chile’s El Mercurio newspaper for a special segment on the February 27 earthquake. They had asked me as a foreign resident and anthropologist to write on my personal reflections on my experience of the quake that had occurred less than a week prior. In the end the story got bumped by another written by a famous Mexican author who happened to be in town at the time. These things do happen; but I like the piece and offer it up to you, uncut and unedited, with my apologies for any unwitting gringuismos, Spanglish, and grammatical faux pax.

Chilean Wine People: the stories behind the quake

Dear Cachando Chile Readers…

I will be pretty much off-line for the next few days as I take some time to visit the wineries in the areas most affected by Chile’s recent earthquake.

As many of you know, I work in Chile’s wine industry, writing about and translating for many of the country’s wineries. As I’m sure most of you also know, many of the wineries south of Santiago were badly affected by the recent earthquake.

Chile’s Earthquake: An Architect’s Perspective

Sebastian Gray, Architect

In the aftermath of one of the strongest earthquakes on record, the world has turned it’s eyes to Chile and has been amazed at how relatively little structural damage was done in comparison with lesser quakes in other parts of the world. I asked my friend Sebastian Gray, an architect and professor at the Universidad Católica de Chile, for answers to the many questions on my mind about issues of architectural safety, earthquake resistance, and seismic considerations in Chilean building codes and structural design.

First: where is the safest place in the house?

Chile’s Earthquake-Santiago Aftermath

It’s been a long week. I posted my personal experience of last week’s earthquake immediately after it occurred, but then, as the news began to show  the depths of the tragedy that hit this country in ever greater detail, I found it harder and harder to write about it. Like everyone here, I thought of little else, but it’s not easy to wrap one’s mind around something of this 8.8 magnitude. I’m sure there are many of us in Chile who have recalled the expression “there but for the grace of God go I” this week. With knotted stomach and wrenched heart, my thoughts have gone round and round and changed so often that it has been hard to pin them down at any one time.

My words are now starting to come back, but let’s start with pictures…

Chile’s Earthquake–the 8.8 experience

As the world is now fully aware, Chile suffered a massive 8.8-point earthquake at 3:34 AM on Saturday, February 27, 2010. Some 80% of the country felt the impact that left some sectors nearly decimated and others barely touched. Chile is no stranger to earthquakes. It holds the record for the world’s worst—9.5 points in Valdivia in May 1960. Chile—and Chileans—are prepared to meet nature’s wrath square on, and thanks to appropriate technology and a culture of preparedness (turn off the gas, turn on the water, open the door, stand in the doorway, get outside, get to high ground), the country has been able to withstand a fury that would have brought most other countries to their figurative knees.

Earthquake: A Personal View

Here’s a bit of my story as experienced in Concón, on Chile’s Pacific coast, just north of Viña del Mar (see the map below). It’s far less dramatic than many, but it’s also good for people to know that the entire country has not collapsed.

Chile’s Earthquake hits 8.8

Woke up with a bang– literally–at 3:35 this morning. By now you’ve all heard that most of Chile was hit by one of the strongest earthquakes on record with a magnitude of 8.8 (the world’s largest was also in Chile–9.5 in Valdivia in May 1960).