Celebrating Fiestas Patrias in Chile

Fiestas Patrias is spanish for national holidays, and in Chile Fiestas Patrias refers to independence day on September 18, as well as army day on September 19. Commonly referred to as dieciocho (or 18), the holiday includes fondas (neighborhood celebrations), parades, family barbecues, terremotos (a drink, not an actual earthquake), dancing the cueca, watching Chilean rodeos, imbibing in copious amounts of carmenere and other Chilean wines, and definitely at least two days off of work (but sometimes as many as five!).

Cute Cowboy: Little Trip dressed as a huaso at his jardin's fiestas patrias celebration

Dieciocho (and national pride) is serious business here. In fact, there is a law that during the holiday every public building must hang a Chilean flag -- from a while flagpole. The flag must be pristine, and hung a certain way. (A small anecdote: Patrick has a Texas flag handkerchief, and I remember someone being concerned that I was blowing my nose on the Chilean flag -- after all they are very similar. I reassured him that it was in fact a Texan flag, but I've felt weird using that handkerchief ever since.)

Before: The boys get the meal ready

After: Typical Chilean barbecue

First off, being in Chile for their independence celebration is fun and a very unique experience. Nonetheless, it is also a bit lonely because while life here reminds you constantly that you are an extranjero (foreigner), there's nothing like a national holiday to rub your nose in it. (Because of that, we now take advantage of the time off and visit the US that week. But the celebration begins the first of September; so we've still been able to get a bit of the feel.)

Yikes! Trip gets to meet a snake

Fondas

A fonda is a community celebration that can be found in every small town across Chile, and in the metropolis of Santiago, the celebrations spill out of nearly every public park and certainly in every comuna. In three years of celebrations, we've now been to three separate fondas: that of the comuna Vitacura in Parque Bicentenario, the Providencia fonda in the Inez de Suarez park, and Las Condes' fonda in Padre Hurtado park.

Tug of war with Mommy & Trippie

Starting September 18 and lasting until the following Sunday, the massive community parks transform into something akin to a county fair. While the fairs are pretty family friendly during the day, I understand they can get rowdy at night -- and who wouldn't after a couple of terremotos or a glass or two of chicha.

Rough Rider: Trippie riding a tiny pony

Fondas usually include a Chilean rodeo, which is quite different than the ones I've watched in Texas, cueca dancing (which seems easy enough until you try it), empanadas, asado (grilled Chilean meats), a petting zoo and other kids activities, and kiosk after kiosk of handcrafted local goods. Wear comfy shoes and lots of layers as it's likely to be cold and hot and cold again, and bring cash, because there is sure to be something lovely that you can't live without.

Bigtime playtime at the fonda at Bicentenario