CULTURE

Mujer Mapuche

Cacique Mapuche

The population of Chile stands around 14 million; 85.5% of which is urban, and 14.5% rural. 76.7% are Roman Catholic, and the life expectancy for women is 76.0 years and for men, 70.4 years. The literacy rate is around 81%.

There is less racial diversification in Chile than in most Latin American countries. Over 90% of the population is mestizo. There is disagreement on the population of the indigenous peoples, but about 1 to 1 1/2 million Mapuche Indians live around Temuco and in Santiago. There are approximately 90,000 Aymara Indians in the northern Chilean Andes, and some 2,000 Rapa Nui peoples on Easter Island. About 600,00 are Palestinians, Jews, Italians, Asiatics, and European. But again, all of these classifications are only about 10% of the population of Chile.

Only 18% of the land contains 77% of the population. Since the 60's, there has been very heavy urbanization, with many Chileans living in the slum areas outside Santiago, sometimes called "callampas" for mushrooms.

The educational system is the subject of much talk and consideration at this time. There are basically three kinds of schools open to Chileans: the metropolitan schools or public schools which are free, the semi-private or subenciondo schools that would run a family about $40 per month, and the private schools which generally cost about $280 per month.

Students usually attend private school for more hours than public school. In most public schools, there are two separate tracks of students and teachers that use a school during a day. One set would attend from 8 to 1, while a second set would attend from 2 to 7. Some of the educational reform talk centers around this issue--running schools more like those in the states for 7 1/2 or 8 hours per day. Since schools are financed by the number of students attending daily, class sizes tend to be around 45 students.The teachers wage listed above is for this 30 hour week; it is interesting to note that many teachers work a double shift, to increase their earnings.

The school calendar runs for 40 weeks or 200 days. Students attend "basica" for 8 years and "media" for 4 years, similar to our system. Only about 1/3 of the students finish all 4 years of "media," and only about 18% of these go on to University. The only way to progress to University is to pass the P.A.A. (Prueba de Aptitude Academica) with a high enough score. Scores are similar to the SAT in the states with readings given in math and verbal skills. The top scores needed are those for careers in Pre-Business, Engineering, Law, and Journalism.

Food is an important part of the Chilean experience. A traveler will find food here that cannot be found in other parts of the world. Chile offers outstanding seafood, sometimes eaten at restaurants right on the water next to the "caletas" where the fishermen bring their catches to clean and sell. Empandas are stuffed turnovers or pastries filled with various meats and vegetables. Parrilladas or asados are types of barbecues or grills, some served at the table with a charcoal brazier on top of which sits a mix of grilling meats--steak, pork, sausages, etc. An ensalada Chileana is a mixture of thinly sliced onions that have been washed several times and drained, chopped peeled tomatoes, cilantro, salt, oil, and vinegar. A cazuela is a soup that starts with a meat (chicken, beef or seafood) with potato, pumpkin, corn, peppers, and a layer of rice on the bottom. A completa is a hot dog with all the works, which in Chile means tomato, avocado, onion, cheese, mayo and more.

Chile produces 400 million liters of wine a year. There are 4 large companies that account for 80% of all wine production: Concha y Toro, Santa Rita, San Pedro and Santa Carolina.

The following are just 4 of the hundreds of wonderful recipes we'd like to include. For those interested in gastronomy, a good Chilean cookbook is recommended.

PEBRE

This is a type of salsa used for dipping bread in, before or during a meal. All ingredients are subject to taste, but are minced and mixed together, preferably some time before it is to be eaten: peeled tomato, cilantro, onion, garlic, aji chiles, oil, salt and pepper.

MACHAS A LA PARMASANA

24 small razor clams grated Parmesan cheese white wine

melted butter

Open clams and remove meat. Rinse both meat and shells well. Tenderize the meat by slapping it against a cutting board. Replace the meat in 1/2 the shell. Sprinkle with about 1 tsp. each of butter, wine and cheese. Broil for 5 minutes or until beginning to brown. Serve immediately.

PISCO SOUR

This is an alcoholic drink using Pisco, which is made from the whole grapes, seed and vines of the grape plant.

200 ml. refrigerated pisco

150 ml. lemon juice

2 tsp. sugar, or more to taste

1/2 tsp. egg white

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend.

EMPANADAS DE PINO

Pastry - 1 kg. flour, 125 gr. margarine or butter, 1 tsp salt, cold water.

Cut butter/marg into the flour. Stir in salt. Add cold water, a tbsp. at a time until the dough is workable. Knead several minutes and set aside.

Filing - 600 g. meat--chopped and lean, 2 large onions, 4-5 tsp. cooking oil, 1 tsp each cumin, pepper, chile powder, paprika, 3 cloves garlic, minced; 4 hard boiled eggs, l tsp flour, 20 black olives, 40 raisins.

Chop onion finely and fry in cooking oil. Add garlic, then spices and salt, then meat. Saute until meat is cooked. Add flour, lower heat and simmer. Leave overnight. Shell eggs and cut lengthwise into 5 pieces each.

Divide pastry into 20 pieces. Roll into a thin round shape. On one half, place l piece egg, l heaped spoon of filling, 2 raisins, and l olive. Paint the edge of the pastry with water. Fold and enclose. Bake 400 for 5 min, then reduce to 350 for another 14 minutes or until browned.

Chile has a rich history of music and literature, too large to begin to cover in this fact sheet. See the resources for places to start. Probably the top four 20th Century poets would be Pablo Neruda (Ricardo Neftali Reyes 1904 - 71), Gabriela Mistral (Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, 1889 - 1957), Vincente Huidobro (1893 - 1948), and Pablo de Rokha (Carlos Diaz Loyola 1894 - 1968). A list of novelists should include Jose Donoso, Jorge Edwards, Ariel Dorfman, Isabel Allende, Poli Dlano, and Antonio Skarmeta. Chilean musicians include Violeta Parra, Victor Jara, Rene Largo Farias, Robert Bravo and the groups of Quilapayun, Inti Illimani, and Illapu. At the heart of Chilean dance is the Cueca which is a courting dance with handkerchiefs, lots of clapping and shouts of encouragement. There are a variety of handcrafts produced in Chile: various jewelry items of silver, lapis lazuli (found only one other place in the world), malachite, and other native stones; woven goods, including clothing, rugs, wall hangings; basketry; ceramics; various carvings from different woods; and items from the "huaso" (cowboy) culture.

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page