Remembering

As I gradually disengage myself from Chile and return to the strangely familiar environment of Toronto, I’m left with a sense that I haven’t been able to get inside Chile’s head, so to speak.  Part of this is due to the fact that I can’t speak Spanish, and part of it is due to the fact that Chileans are part of a very reserved culture.  But even though I’m on the outside looking in, it seems quite obvious that Chile hasn’t quite come to terms with the legacy of Pinochet and his regime.  There are constant reminders of both the junta and the opposition to it.  It is as if there is still a battle being waged for the memories of Chileans.

In Ancud I noticed that the main street that runs along the waterfront is named after Salvador Allende, the democratically elected President that Pinochet deposed.  The naming obviously happened after Pinochet’s ouster. 

And on the waterfront there is a simple, yet prominent, memorial to four young Ancud citizens who were killed as a result of the coup.  The sad thing is that this memorial has been vandalized and sits forlorn and apparently ignored.  Has it been defaced by Pinochet supporters or by bored smalltown youths who just have no sense of history or memory?  Either way, it’s a sad state.

In Santiago, as well, I noticed this split personality with regards to remembering or memorializing the dictatorship.  There is still a main avenue that is named in memoriam of September 11 – not the terrorist attack of 2001, but the date of Pinochet’s coup in 1973.  When Pinochet took power left wing supporters were rounded up and imprisoned, tortured and murdered.  Much of this happened in the national stadium.  This stadium is still being used for large concerts and sporting events today.

I don’t know if there is some informal, popular reclaiming/memorializing that is happening around the stadium.  I do know that there is a process by some to not let another torture centre slip into the past silently and be forgotten. When I first landed in Santiago I stayed in an interesting little barrio of old, ornate buildings, right downtown.  Just down the street, a half block from where I was staying was an attractive old building that stood abandoned and had graffiti and flyers pasted all over it.  Upon closer inspection I was surprised to learn that the building was a torture house and the flyers were photos of the 119 people who had been murdered there.  To further this act of witnessing, here are some photos of the building.

 

Meals I´ve Eaten – Santiago

I was going to make this a regular feature of the blog, but I guess I was too busy eating, so I´ll have to sum things up in a few end of trip posts.  I´ll cover the highlights, and a few lowlights.

Chacarero:  This is a common sandwich in Chilean diners.  It´s basically a steak sandwich topped with green beans and some mild hot peppers (fresh, not pickled).  It doesn´t sound like much, but the toppings give a fresh twist to what would otherwise be sort of ho-hum.

Lomo al pobre:  A Chilean take on steak and eggs.  Take a basic cut of steak (something you would find at a greasy spoon, not a fancy steakhouse), put a fried egg on top, and then cover the whole thing with french fries.  I´d prefer home fries instead, but that didn´t seem to be an option.  Lomo al pobre translates to “poor man´s steak”.  The idea is that they´ve piled on all this other stuff so that you won´t notice how cheap and measly the steak was.

Pastel del choclo:  A traditional corn casserole, consisting of a meat stew base with a thick corn topping.  This epitomizes what I don´t like about traditional Chilean cooking.  Bland.  It´s ironic that, given the country´s name, Chilean cuisine does not employ very much spice at all.  I´m all for tasting pure, fresh flavours, but sometimes you want something zippy in a meal.  You probably won´t find that here.  Also keep your eyes peeled for a future post about how Chileans love mayonnaise.

Espresso:  Boy, was it hard to find a good cup of coffee.  I don´t expect a nicely pulled shot in a small town, but in Santiago I thought I would have some luck.  Unfortunately, most Chileans consider Nescafe to be a damn fine brew.  A lot of places would have fancy espresso drinks on their menu, but the quality was poor. And a lot of places had a weird idea of what a cappuccino was.  You´d get a measly shot of coffee topped with a gargantuan mound of whipped cream (it would be 1 part coffee, 4 parts whipped cream!).  I have an incredible sweet tooth and even I found this disgusting.

Santiago: murals/graffiti

I have no idea what the text in this next one says.  If anyone who can read Spanish wants to give us the gist, you can tell us in the comments section.

The following shots show an official mural on the outside of a metro station.  Can you imagine the TTC having the creativity and vision to do something like this?

Santiago: some interesting ads

Back in Santiago as I finish up my South American travels (I´m back in less than two weeks!). It´s interesting to see how advertising and visual culture differs from what one is used to at home. I snapped a few examples when I was wandering the streets of the Chilean capital

First we have this mannequin from a major department store:

While he does share that universal mannequin talent of looking relaxed and natural, he seems to have been involved in some sort of a catfight. And with that annoying smirk, I´d be tempted to slap him in the face as well. Yes, nothing makes me want to buy clothes more than a bloodied and smirking dummy.

Next we have this charming couple, prominently displayed in the window of a health food/natural medicine store:

Boy, does he look happy and healthy. Maybe he just knocked back some tincture of echinacea or something. Or perhaps this shop was across the street from the above mannequin and he´s getting ready to knock that guy on his keester.

And finally we have this one:

That´s an ad for women´s shoes, by the way. Because nothing says shoes like a crotch shot. I can hear the photographer right now – “that´s it honey, just act natural”.