Santiago a mil.

"Stgo a Mil" is one of the major cultural events of the year in Chile. Hundreds of plays, concerts, expos, stage arts in different venues, to promote all kinds of performing arts. It is not to be missed!

Jingle bells @ Stgo.

Even here, in the southern hemisphere, where the average temperature reaches 28ºC now, we have to get into the usual Christmas mood. Shopping at the mall, listening to "Holy night" and "Jingle Bells" in the loud speakers, looking at the huge Christmas tree and decorations, and walking around in flipflops and tank tops, eating ice cream and buying a bikini... I can't get used to the world upside down!

Free Hugs Campaign.

Spread the love and don't judge the book by its cover... It does feel good.

Spidermen made in Chile.

Glass buildings are very much in vogue here in Santiago, but when it comes to washing the windows, it's a different story. Those guys up there just seemed so comfortable, talking, working and joking at the same time. No vertigo for them, I guess.

Contain'art @ Valparaiso.

Gone for the weekend to Valparaiso, I couldn't miss this photo opportunity. Those big industrial containers painted with bright colours set up in front of the Navy Headquarters were the very unique stage for great concerts and plays. It couldn't be missed...I didn't.

Where is the bus?

Friday morning, the bus drivers must have slept in, or had a very long night because they didn't show up this morning at the bus stop. Hey guys!! some of us actually need to go to work once in a while!!

Fine Arts on the wall.

Rather than leaving those big walls grey and ugly, some artists (I must find out who they are) were contracted by the City of Santiago to make this corner a little more colourful, especially because we're talking about the metro station "Bellas Artes" which means Fine Arts. Now, you definitely can't miss it. It is so cheerful, happy-happy I just love it!

The environmental-friendly police.

A nice, warm and sunny Sunday...My street is very quiet, it must be nap-time. All I can hear are the steps of two horses on the pavement...Quite an unusual scene. I'm so used to hearing and seeing the old and very noisy buses that this short moment had a little something of my beloved French countryside. Now when it comes to real police business, I'm not sure about the horses' efficiency, but it's definitely a bit better for Santiago's polluted air.

Christmas is in the (hot) air.

30ºC, big blue sky, long sunny days and Christmas decorations...Definitely, this is gonna be a very different story this year...and I'll definitely be dreaming of a White Christmas.

Strawberries: a summer delight.

You know summer's almost here when you see those little carts at every street's corner. Sweet, small or big, but so cheap it's hard to resist! Juices, fruit salads, pies, cakes, or with champagne...what a delight!

How do you say "trick or treating" in Chilean?

Not so sure the Chileans really know what Halloween is all about, but not so sure they'd actually care to know. It just seems that as far as they are concerned, it's a perfect excuse to dress up, party, drink, and spend money. Not that they actually need an excuse...But the kids really enjoy getting out on the street at night to get free "caramelos". And so do the grown-ups...and it's an American tradition right? (or so they think) Therefore, it's gotta be good!

Joining the crusade against breast cancer.

Sunday 25th of October 2009... Thousands of people, women, men, kids, grandmothers and even dogs, gathered to support the pink cause, all around the world....The Avon Crusade against breast cancer. Walking, running, cheering, but more important, supporting. Here in Santiago, it was a great moment, with positive vibes, good music, warm sun and even warmer atmosphere.

Huasco's coal-fired powerplant.

700 kilometers north of Santiago: Huasco. A nice little town on the ocean, with its colony of pelicans, its numerous beaches, at the gates of the Atacama desert. It also has a huge coal-fired powerplant built on a small island now connected to the mainland...and a second one is on the way.

Viva Chile Mierda!

Saturday, October 10th will remain a great date in all Chileans' memories. It had been 12 years since Chile had clasified for the World Cup. Old ones, young ones, sober ones and drunkens all went to Plaza Italia to get together, party, sing, climb up traffic lights...sensing that there probably won't be much more to celebrate after that...A big achievement anyway, and Pride & Patriotism are two things Chileans are good at...

Shiny shoes on a sunny day.

Nothing like having your shoes polished while reading your newspapers, before getting to work. The "lustrador de zapatos" can be found in every street, at every corner downtown Santiago, and represent an important part of Chile's living heritage.

Marching against discrimination.

"Con pituto es justo"? What is "Pituto"? in Chilensis, it basically sums up the concept of being hired because you're the friend of a friend who knows the boss... in French "copinage"...
Chile is a country very well known for that...If you don't know anyone, you basically can't get anywhere professionnally... and it is really worse than you can imagine, trust me.

October sky over the Cordillera.

Great contrast, a little bit of snow, big blug sky and full moon, on the first of October in Santiago.

Bye bye Santiago's Teleferico.

It was one of Santiago's favourites! Too bad for those who never had the opportunity to ride it to the top of Cerro San Cristobal. It's been shut down for unlimited time, in order to be repaired, checked...But who are they kidding? Authorities are talking 8 months minimum...which means it will never be seen in Santiago's sky again. Que lastima...

On a cold and very colourful Saturday.

I said I would go, and I went. And even though it was a small parade, it was full of happiness, music, craziness, tolerance, girls looking like boys, boys looking like women, boys holding hands, girls kissing...and everybody dancing, and hoping for a better understanding from their own people. Chile may look very modern from the outside, it remains very middle-age on the inside when it comes to any topic related to their society. The path is long, narrow and sinous...

Santiago's Rainbow Flag up.

I haven't heard anyone or read any newspapers say a word about this event. That says it all about Chilean's way of dealing with things that are not considered here as "normal", whatever that means.

I'll be there anyway.

Fiestas Patrias.

Chilean traditional costumes. It is mandatory for high school students to dance, and at least once, the national "Cueca". And in costumes, of course!

Let there be music.

On a sunny day, getting ready to celebrate "el dieciocho" (18), Chilean's Independance Day. Santiago's Orphans Band took it away on Plaza de Armas. Classical and classic tunes, and a cheering audience to welcome Spring and its warmer days.

Dancing in the street.

Salsotheca "Maestra Vida" had the very good idea to give a salsa class out on the street, in Barrio Bellavista, Santiago's bohemian area. Rapidly, the street was packed with dancing people, salsa aficionados, and a great salsa band filled the air with really good and catchy music. A great initiative!

Love is rescue.

Today, September 12th 2009, was the worldwide celebration of the 100 years of the Pentecostal Church (a renewalist movement within Christianity). I accidentally got caught in the middle of their parade formed by thousands of people, old and young and in between, but all happy, singing, glowing and believing...

Years of socialism made in Chile.

Values of work, children, healthy food for all and those pictures promoting those values, from the 40's and the 50's... Fun, and colourful, like good memories of a time long-gone... Tomorrow, 9/11, means here the 36th birthday of the Coup d'Etat by Augusto Pinchet...

Lesson 34a.

At Santiago's Museum of National History, I was given a reading lesson of Castellano... I still don't get why there is the picture of a cow, "vaca" en Spanish. It was just to give a bucolic meaning to this lesson?

Salvador Allende's half pair of famouse glasses.

A rainy Sunday was perfect to spend some time at Santiago's Museo de Historia Nacional. Among portraits, weapons and some furniture, this half pair of glasses, found after Salvador Allende was murdered (a.k.a "comitted suicide"). Just looking at it, one can imagine how violent the impact must have been. To me, it says so much more than photos.

Sept'.18th is coming up.

Chile's National Day is coming up, September 18th. It's the Independance day celebrated with joy, happiness, BBQ's, and national dance: la CUECA. Little girls will make sure to be wearing those colourful dresses we can buy at every market around the country...They will be carrying a small white handkerchief to dance Cueca at the school's fair, as well.

Up, in the air.

Long before the latest Disney / Pixar movie, "UP", was created in Santiago "La Casa en el Aire", the House in the Air... It's a resto/bar located in Barrio Bellavista, with a great atmosphere, mostly due to the great artists they host every night. Alvaro González is one of them, covering traditional & revolutionary Chilean songs, with a beautiful voice and a nostalgic guitar.

http://www.lacasaenelaire.cl

A freakin' good question.

If all rivers are sweet, where does the sea get its salt?

Pablo Neruda, from "El Libro de las Preguntas".

Empty platform.

For once, nobody's waiting. Where are the people? It is 8.00 in the morning, noone is going to work...or so it seems...

Think about it.

"In nature, there is no prize nor punishment. Only consequences." Do all the Chileans feel as concerned as this writer about the environment? Not so sure about it, it may not be their number one concern...

Inside out.

Am I standing on the platform or am I inside the subway train? The express service was down, "green-line" customers had to share the metro with the "red-line" customers...and everything went rather well, I have to say. But it would be nice if it didn't happen again, thanx.

Spring is coming up.

Are we almost done with the rain, the cold, the grey and the wind? On this beautiful and warm Saturday afternoon, it sure does look like it. Let's just not get our hopes too high too quickly, however. A 65 year-old Chilean plumber (whose name is not Mario) told me yesterday that we still had a good month of winter ahead of us...Please for once, may the ancients and their experience be wrong!

Silent protest.

XXIst century in a southamerican country, so westernised in terms of...well...almost everything...but still so middle-age when it comes to women and woman's right of deciding what she wants to do with her own body. In Chile, abortion is a crime and therefore, punished...heavily.

Yes we (can) vote.

Elections are coming up...Beginning of 2010 will see the dawn of the era "post-Bachelet". Chilean Constitution doesn't allow a President to be candidate again right away. And if Michele Bachelet did pretty good for her country, the 3 main candidates and potential presidents are trying hard to seduce the young audience...who is just not interested in voting.

Sky blue.

The rain eventually stopped. Santiago's atmosphere is clean, cleaner than it has been in a very long time...And the contrast between the great blue sky and the spotless white snow on the surrounding mountains is absolutely mesmerizing... It is just a perfect ski day.

Wet Santiago.

After a month spent enjoying warm warm France, I had to put my raincoat and rain boots back on...It is definitely still winter here, in Santiago.

A purple fetish.

Waiting for the metro to arrive, with his purple friend on his laps... Another victim of the Tubby Trauma?

Early winter morning sun.

A lot easier to stand the cold when the sun shines through the window, so early in the morning.

Pick a card.

It seems that Chilean men have a little thing with magic... The gentleman with the hat was yesterday night (and probably all day as well) doing a demonstration and selling items to entertain friends and family at home...And passers-by just loved it!!

Playing Taka-Taka in San Jose de Maipo

Pool, fussball (taka-taka) or ping-pong available to everyone who wants to share a great moment of fun with friends and/or family for a very small price. Nothing better than getting together on a Sunday afternoon in this cute little village in the mountains.

An impressive firetruck.

The 1st Fire Brigade of the Santiago Fire Department owns this beautiful American vehicle, that always catch passers-by's attention... And more than anyone, kids like to pose in front of this red rocket always spotless clean!

At the Chinese supermarket.

Isn't that just so classy?? this beautiful Chinese woman sitting on the toilets, reading a fashion magazine...thanks to this "Defecation Tea"... Don't you just like Chinese supermarkets?

Dear Ludwig van B.

San Jose de Maipo is a quiet little village 35 kilometers of Santiago, in the mountains. It is peaceful, and very very cold in this time of year. There is a little park, right in the center of this town, where people gather to tchat, play Taka-Taka (fussball), pool, or have a look at the crafts market. And there is this stone, this weird face with a citation from Ludwig van Beethoven, probably listening to some sonate or symphony, facing the beautiful Cordillera...

Virus Alert!

Dropping off some backpackers at "La Casa Roja", one of the best guesthouses in Santiago, this little note at the reception desk caught my attention... I would have to say now that it doesn't matter if you're coming from the U.S.A or Peru, or Argentina because this AH1N1 is now a pandemy... A nice global virus we all share!! And in Chile just as much as everywhere else...if not more.

On the way to school.

"Thank God it's Friday" must be thinking those kids on their way to school, on a very cold morning. The big sister is in charge of her siblings and they will all take the metro to get to class on time... And soon will come the winter holidays...maybe even today when the bell rings?

Under a blood red sky.

Photo taken in Farellones, a Chilean ski resort, 45 minutes away from Santiago. This is what you get when you manage to get out of the smog...Definitely worth it, isn't it?

A Chilean dog's life.

Those poor dogs are freezing cold, living in the street, nowhere to go. There are thousands of them, running free in Santiago, abandoned by careless people who buy puppies as presents for their kids. Puppies get bigger, and they are not as cute, they eat a bit more and they become a burden... Everything but agressive, those dogs are only looking for TLC (tender loving care)...