11 Sept

Today's the day:

Sept 11, 1973: In Chile, a military coup is staged to overthrow democratically-elected Socialist president Salvador Allende. From here, Gen. Augosto Pinochet takes over and leads a 17-year dictatorship in which thousands of people are tortured, killed, and made to "disappear."

Sept 11, 2001: In the United States, hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City. 3,000 people were killed.

Selection from "Cita con Angeles" by Silvio Rodríguez Domínguez

Septiembre aúlla todavía:
su doble saldo escalofriante.
Todo sucede un mismo día
gracias a un odio semejante.
Y el mismo ángel que allá en Chile
vió bombardear al Presidente
ve las dos torres con sus miles
cayendo inolvidablemente.


September still howls:
its double chilling casualties.
Everything happens on the same day
thanks to a similar hatefulness.
The same angel that there in Chile
saw the president being bombed
sees the two towers, with its thousands
falling unforgettably.


Today in classes we spent a lot of time reflecting on this day, this day that is so important to Chilean history. I don't know how many times I cried today - I'm still having a hard time getting my head around the fact that all of this happened: that soldiers took over the streets, entered anyone and everyone's house yelling "are you a communist?" Killing people in the streets, taking them to boats waiting in the harbor to torture them.

In Spanish class today we read Salvador Allende's last speeches- the radio transmissions from La Moneda (the Presidential Palace) as he knew he was being overthrown.

"La historia no se detiene ni con la represión ni con el crimen. Esta es una etapa que será superada. Este es un momento duro y difícil: es posible que nos aplasten. Pero el mañana será del pueblo, será de los trabajadores. La humanidad avanza para la conquista de una vida mejor."

(History cannot be stopped by repression nor crime. This is a stage that will be overcome. This is a hard and difficult moment: they may crush us. But tomorrow will be of the people, it will be of the workers. Humanity continues to fight for a better life.)

We talked about this a little bit at dinner with my host parents. My host father said that Allende died like a ship captain. All of his men had betrayed him- he knew the danger, but he didn't leave La Moneda- he went down with his ship.

A theme throughout his speeches that day was his "duty." His duty to the Chilean people to complete his term as President, just as the people had decided he should.

In the recording of his last speech he says "Viva Chile! Viva the people! Vivan the workers! These are my last words and I am certain that my sacrifice will not be vain, I am sure that, at least, there will be a moral lesson that punishes treachery, cowardice and betrayal." And then you hear the sound of bombs and crashing.




There is just so much to digest!
This was all so recent: we are now 35 years from the coup. After 1973, there were 17 years of dictatorship, and then the past 18 years have been democracy.
My host brother, now 24, was born during a dictatorship.
One of our directors asked us, "You were all about 12, 13 when the Twin Towers were hit? That's how old I was during the coup."

comparison

In the past week or so here, I've discovered one very important thing:
Valparaiso is the Portland of Chile.

Reason Number One: Artsy

I've walked the streets of Valparaiso a good number of times now, and I am always overwhelmed by new and beautiful murals, graffiti, street art, painted houses, marble collages embedded in the sidewalk. Walking around, I get the feeling that the people living here take pride in making their space beautiful, and are proactive to take the responsibility to do it.
And there is such a vibrant culture of street art! I have no idea how such a culture
could have developed, but all over the streets are incredible works of art, not just tagging but art.
It creates such a beautiful, positive environment.
Here are some photos I took while walking around with some buddies:





One of my favorites, which I unfortunately don't have a picture of, was a nintendo logo, but instead of "Nintendo" it said "NoEntiendo," which means "I don't get it" in Spanish.


Reason Number Two:
Beautiful naturaleza

Both Vina del Mar and Valparaiso (just to clarify: two cities that are so smooshed together they count as one) are right on the water, and follow the curve of the water. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but it's become a big part of my daily life here. I've been walking to classes every morning, following a caminata right on the water. I've never spent so much time so near the ocean - I still find myself gasping every time there's a gap in the buildings and I see the expanse of blue.
I've also gone a handful of times to the beautiful sandy beach three blocks from my house to train.

Check it out!



Reason Number Three:
Culture!

I have only been here for what, two weeks? and have already encountered a plethora of festivals, shows, performances, workshops... I'll be walking through the city and happen upon a performance of traditional Chilean dance in the plaza, I'll turn and see I big advertisement for a Jazz festival, then go home and have my host mother hand me an announcement about a theatre festival coming up.
It's been very stimulating to simply be in this environment.
Last weekend I cried when I the went to see the opera Madame Butterfly at the Teatro Municipal de Vina del Mar, then the next night I inhaled cigarette fumes at a punk show in the basement of Casa T.I.A.O (description to come).

Tangent (on the theme of culture): with my program we are required to partner with one of six organizations, the organization I chose, called "Centro Cultural Playa Ancha" focuses on "occupying and recuperating public spaces for the development of Art and Culture." Specifically, they offer workshops and classes, run a community television chanel, organize events to bring together local communities (block party style) as well as arrange larger carnavals - one of which is the Carnaval Mil Tambores, which will happen in early October. After a few unfocused meetings we finally figure out how we gringas (there are three of us with the program) could possible help. Turns out they just want us to participate!
For me, this means I will meet weekly with musicians to learn how to play cueca, the Chilean national dance, on the accordion! In October, I will be marching in the parade with my beautiful Bella and a ruffled indigenous dress on. I couldn't have happened upon a better opportunity!
I'll be doing something like this:


And some other photos from Mil Tambores 2007:




Reason Number Three:
Circus is Everywhere

It would be just my luck, wouldn't it, that the very week I arrive to Valparaiso, they are just getting ready for a Festival of Clown?
I wasn't able to make it to any of the activities, but I made sure to see their opening parade, and it definitely made me cry a little -- a celebratory community dancing in the street! And not just that, but a circus one! It assuaged all my worries.

Beyond that, I've found a place to train! The Casa T.I.A.O is a casa ocupa, literally an "occupied house," that houses something like 30 or 40 artists, hosts workshps and classes in all sorts of arts, and puts on shows! They have done a great job transforming a scummy abandoned building into a place of art with paint, wheatpaste, and a creative sense of interior decorating. They have a sala de entrenemiento with a lot of space, mats, and a trapic and aerial fabric! The plan is to take two trapeze classes and one fabric class a week(at about two dollars each), make lots of friends and then make art!
So far the plan is going very well.
My very first visit, I had mistaken the day. I knocked on the large, antique oak door for a long while until it was opened, and that was only because a person just happened to be leaving. Luckily I ran into a circus person pretty quickly (I suppose the chances were good), and after hunting down a schedule and realizing there was no class tonight, I decided to ask if I could stay and train anyway. Of course, was the answer. My happenstance guide decided to train with us, and eventually a Spanish Juggler called "Smurf" joined us as well.
The next day I returned for the trapeze class with my host brother, Ulises. The class was wild and wonderful and difficult! It's not dance trapeze, like I'm used to, but circus trapeze (If you're reading this and understand, I figure you'd appreciate the detail, if that means nothing to you I won't bore you to explain), and turns out that circus trap has an entirely different technique than I'm used to. It was very tough.
After the class, after finding out that one of my classmates had done a fair amount of partner acrobatics, the two of us decided to play around. This was such an inspirational experience - even though I didn't understand half of what he was saying (though my vocabulary is good, my circus vocab is still lacking), we were able to move through a good amount of moves, pulling from our shared knowledge. And, quite easily, he was able to teach me some more.
This is [one of] the [many] beauty[s] of the performing arts: the human body is the common denominator across all cultures! Expression and community and beauty, all right there.

Fabulous!

For days after this class, I had to stretch my calves every time I was planning on standing up, they were so tight.





And of course there are things to say about my classes, and my friends, and my host family, and all the other walks and explorations we've done in the city...
It'll come.

a casa

Well now I'm writing from my new home.
Everything is fabulous. I was given a wonderful family - I have two older siblings, a brother, 24, and a sister, 29 - and just to keep in the theme of my siblings back in the US, both are engineers. My parents are both very kind and engaging and have made me very comfortable. And my city is beautiful! We live right on the water, on this beautiful ocean!

I don't have much time to write now, but I'll give you a teaser for tomorrow:







And, does this one look familiar?





Tomorrow, I'm heading to my first official day of classes, my first lecture, and in the evening I'm heading over to a casa ocupada to check out some trapeze classes, and then afterwards going to watch a show by a clown theatre troupe.
I'm home!