More Fiestas Patrias

During the Fiestas Patrias celebrations last week, we were lucky enough to be invited to two family gatherings. The first one, on Saturday night, was at the house of Maria Angelica, who is an English teacher at Catherine's school. At her house we met her husband and two kids, her mother and father, her three sisters, a nephew, and a couple of other friends. Early in the evening, I ended up outside with the other men, tending the barbeque and chatting. This was really good practice for my Spanish, and the talk ranged from charcoal to meat to futbol to wine, and then suddenly we were talking about the poetry of Pablo Neruda, and then about the music of Victor Jara and how he was so brutally murdered by Pinochet's troops during the coup in 1973. I was moved by the deep sense of culture and history that lurks so close to the social surface here in Chile.

At one point during dinner the nephew asked me if I liked McDonalds, and I, of course, protested strongly that I hated McDonalds, bahhh! There was a pregnant silence at the table, and then I learned that his mother, Maria Angélica's sister, who was sitting across from me, works at McDonalds. DOH!!!! Why can't I learn to be a little more diplomatic? But, then the discussion deepened, and the questions turned to why did I not like McDonalds. Was it the food? Was it the politics of big business? (Obviously it wasn't because I was a vegetarian because I had just polished off a big plateful of grilled meat.) In the end I think I was forgiven and I confessed that I do sometimes indulge a craving for McDonalds french fries.
Unfortunately I forgot my camera that night so there are no photos.

On the last day of the four-day weekend during Fiestas Patrias, we were invited to a gathering at the house of Omar, another one of Catherine's colleagues. He lives out in the country, about 25 km east of Chillán. It was a beautiful spring day and it felt good to get out into the countryside and breathe the fresh air. As the afternoon progressed, more and more friends and family arrived. There were games, lots of asados, a horse to ride, and, of course, music and dancing. There were a couple of guitars there and several people took turns playing and singing. I even sang the one chilean folk song I know, Te Recuerdo Amanda, and I guess it was good enough since everyone sang along, and then demanded an encore performance later when more guests had arrived. It was a relaxing afternoon spent in good company with warm and fun-loving people. We felt welcomed and accepted.

More photos can be seen by clicking this link
A short video of the singing is here