Dieciocho is the biggest Holiday in Chile (Sept 18th Independence Day), it's the 4th of July on speed. It is said to be an even bigger celebration than Christmas, which was upsetting at first because I love Christmas but then I experienced Fiestas Patrias now I know what all the fuss is about. It's like the 4th of July because there are BBQs and red, white and blue everywhere. It is unlike the 4th of July because it's way better. Americans(northern) do not know how to celebrate. This past 4th of July was 110 degrees and you only got one day off of work, Dieciohco landed on a Tuesday, the partying started Friday the 14th and lasted till Friday the 21th...and no one went to work those days.
We were able to go to three Fondas, which are basically food and drink stands surrounding a dance floor, fondas are surrounded by games and carnival rides, very similar to a state fair only everyone is super drunk. The best Fonda we went to was with our Chilean friend and her American husband at Parque O'Higgins, which hosted this year's national fonda. We sat around drinking Terremotos, white wine with pineapple ice cream (tons of different variations, very sweet and very strong), while watching men and women young (5 years old) and old (82 yr old woman) dance the Cueca to a live band, every once in awhile there would be a cheer "CHI-CHI-CHI-LE-LE-LE VIVA CHILE". We were absorbed in the atmosphere and were very lucky to be a part of it. The next day we went back to the Park and kept riding that good feeling and the terremotos, luckily we had our camera because I could describe it all day, but you had to be there to actually feel the celebration.
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| Tons and tons of meat at the Fondas, I mean I am a vegetarian but not on Dieciocho |
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| Choripan Andrew's favorite |
We could see the smoke from the BBQ from our roof 3 miles away. Thats a lot of meat.
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| we were not daring enough to try this selection |
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| Guess who rocks at Carny games? I won a bread fan and some 'Ron' which is rum only this one smelt like paint remover. |
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| Tons of Kites, we learned that kiting can be a sport, some people soak the strings in this liquid with glass shards so when it's flying it cuts down other kites, very extreme. |
I suggest anyone wanting to visit Chile should come during the September Holiday, and be prepared to drink sweet drinks and eat lots of meat. Its hard to imagine our life here going back to normal after such a unique experience.
