For a split second, I panicked. This is a country instinctively distrustful of their government, who within the past couple decades saw their air force annihilate the capital building and install a long sitting, sometimes brutal dictator in Pinochet. Search ‘ultimas palabras de Salvador Allende’ on Youtube for a chilling sense of the golpe militar on September 11, 1973. The socialist president made one last radio broadcast from the basement of La Moneda (Chilean White House) while fighters bombed the government overhead, before taking his own life immediately following the recording. The country would suffer through single party rule, torture and citizens disappearing in the middle of the night until the late 1980s when Pinochet miraculously stepped down and the democratic constitution was adopted. The decision to relinquish power was heavily influenced by the fall of the Berlin Wall and the ultimate failure of communism in the USSR amongst other regional factors.
In the US, a military takeover would be unconscionable. We’ve had a stable democracy for over two hundred years running, a firmly citizen controlled military, and very little political violence throughout. American citizens may doubt, distrust or discredit the government, but not in the same way as people do here. Chile is working on barely 20 years of continued democracy and is no exception on a continent sometimes known for political instability. Students my age sitting right next to me in class were born under a dictator! My parents at home might remember Nixon’s resignation, but my parents here remember listening to Allende’s last words and 15 years of Pinochet’s reign. Chew on that for a second.
In the end, the jet circled around and flew off without further incident. Nobody was sure why they decided to put on such a flyover; it was no holiday or celebration, tradition or the like. Maybe it was an ill-conceived attempt at entertainment, or maybe just a show of force. The armada floating outside the city is plenty enough in that case, thank you very much. Regardless, it succeeded in bringing history to life for me, if only for a moment. Next time though, can we find a way that doesn’t leave me bleeding from the ears?
In Brief
Like they always say, when in Chile… practice Japanese martial arts. I joined karate classes for the heck of it, and it turns out I’m the only one! I’m getting private lessons four hours a week from two guys who really know what they’re doing, for the price of a class that normally has 25 students (like in their other dojo, off in Valpo). The style that they teach is the oldest in the books and very welcoming, in the sense that they consider the entire network to be a family. While some karate sensei are more rigid than I-beams and beat the snot out of their students, these guys encourage questions, fun, and invited me to sushi. Being tall, fairly athletic and having practiced reactionary sports all my life (goalie, keeper, catcher), this is something I could get pretty good at, especially if this 2 teachers to 1 student private lesson deal keeps up.
Speaking of Japan…
Yikes. Just yikes. Down here we’re still getting daily aftershocks, and the whole of Vina/Valpo coast area was evacuated for a period last week due to tsunami threats.
Speak Chilean – Words of the Week
Cachai (k-etch-eye): [unkown?], Chilean for ‘get it?’ or ‘understand?’. Always put at the end of a sentence. Blah blah blah... cachai? Kind of like the British ending their sentences with ‘… yea?’
Cueca (quake-a): [noun], the traditional dance of Chile. Kinda goofy looking dance involving moving lines of dancers in traditional country dress doing a move like fake horse-riding a la Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
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