But there was one typical Chilean food that I hadn't tried yet, the completo, which is a hot dog with a large bun loaded with condiments and a mountain of mayonnaise. According to Sarah, who lived here in Chile in 2001, the best time to enjoy a completo is at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning after a long night in the bars (she says she heard that from a Chilean friend). Since our lifestyle here doesn't include wild nights in the bars, I have not found myself in the proper conditions to enjoy the completo yet. But time is running out, so I didn't want to go back to the states without at least trying a completo. (Catherine, a much wiser and healthier eater than I, has decided that the completo is not high on her list of must-dos)
Luckily, I have a friend at school, Paulo, who takes great pleasure in talking to me about Chilean music and food. He is the one who took me out to eat chupe de guatitas and laughed with me when I didn't like it. When he heard that I hadn't eaten a completo yet, he appointed himself as my personal guide, and we resolved to go to the best completo stand in Chillán. Last night around 9:00 pm, Paulo and his wife Carolina came by to pick me up. We drove just a few minutes to El Completón, which is a hole-in-the-wall food stall that specializes in completos. We were among the early crowd, since they stay open till 4:30 am every night. Paulo and I had the standard completo: a hot dog with tomatoes and mayonnaise, while Carolina had a completo italiano, which has tomatoes, avocado, and mayonnaise, (red, green, and white, the colors of the Italian flag.)
The completo was good, but even better was the conversation. We talked politics, both Chilean and US. As I explained the Democratic and Republican parties, Carolina said, "you must be a democrat". "Yes," I said, "how did you know?" She replied, "You sing Victor Jara." We talked about our families, and Paulo and I hatched a plan to export longanizas from Chillán to Portland.We also talked about our respective cultures. My impression of Chile is that the culture is pretty consistant from North to South. They take great pride in the unity of the country. For example, the Chilean flag has only one star, and the explanation is that they are one people, one country, as opposed to the 50 stars on the US flag. Everywhere in Chile there are completos, cazuela, and people dance the cueca. We are often asked questions like, what is the national dance of the US? what is the national food? and we find it hard to answer. The US is so much more diverse, with so many cultures contributing their food and dance. It is hard to think of the equivalent to the late-night completo stand in the US? Is our national food the Big Mac? the Happy Meal? Or is our culture more regional? In Portland I would take Paulo and Carolina out for micro brews and tacos. In Philadelphia we would have Philly Cheese Steak. In Texas it would be barbecue. There may be fewer choices here in Chile, but there is a depth and richness in those choices, and a cohesiveness of belonging to a culture that is traditional and well-defined. Who knows what will happen in the coming years as Chile continues to open to the world and the waves of globalization wash over the valleys, right up into the Andes. I hope that Chile can retain its own identity and that the national night time snack does not become the Big Mac. Long live the completo!
