Chile Culture » Archive

Chile Holidays and Festivals

Chile Holidays and Festivals

Chile’s holidays and festivals have their roots in historical events and religion. Religion plays an important part in Chilean’s lives, some of Chile’s most important celebrations are based on religious beliefs combining Spanish and Indian tradition. Chileans honor Catholic saints with festivals that usually include processions in which religious statues are carried on the streets, people wear traditional brightly colored costumes and dance to folk music. To recognize the increasing importance of the Evangelical and … Read entire article »

Filed under: Chile Culture

Food and Cuisine in Chile

Food and Cuisine in Chile

Chilean cuisine varies depending where you are, because of its ecological and climatic diversity there is a great variety of products available in different regions. All the different regional cuisines are a combination of traditional native Chilean dishes and ingredients, European and in a lesser extent Middle Eastern influences, creating the Chilean Creole cuisine. Three distinct cuisines can be distinguished; the cuisine of the North, Central and South. Because of Chile’s long coast seafood is the … Read entire article »

Filed under: Chile Culture

Chile City Life

Chile City Life

Four out of five Chileans live in cities along the coast. The countryside has seen large exodus of residents looking for a better opportunities in the cities. Most people migrate to but there are not enough jobs or places to live. They settle around the city and many families live in crowded areas called callampas or mushrooms, here they build small shacks where there is no electricity of running water. According to Chile’s National Statistics … Read entire article »

Filed under: Chile Culture

Chile Population

Chile Population

Chileans are a diverse people whose roots are found in both South America and Europe. The original inhabitants of Chile include the Ona and Yahgan tribes in the south, the Mapuche in the south of the Central Valley and the Atacameno and Diaguita Indians who lived in the Atacama Desert in the north of the country. Today they represent only 4.5% of the population. As the Spanish conquered most of South America many men inter … Read entire article »

Filed under: Chile Culture

Easter Island Statues – moai

Easter Island Statues – moai

The massive 887 stone statues or moai built in Easter Island by the Rapa Nui are unique. Although there are stone figures in other Polynesian islands none of them are of the size of the Easter Island statues. The largest finished statue reaches more than 30 feet or 9.14 meters and the smallest 6 feet or 1.80 meters. Many moai were never finished, in fact the largest one found was unfinished and would have stood … Read entire article »

Filed under: Chile Travel and Places, Featured, Pacific Islands

Easter Island History

Easter Island History

Easter Island was so named by Jacob Roggeveen, a Dutch explorer who on April 5, 1722, Easter Sunday, was the first European to visit the island. First Inhabitants Radio carbon studies estimate that the first inhabitants of  settled between 700 CE and 1200 CE. There is much debate about the origin of the Rapa Nui. Norwegian ethnographer and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl suggested that Polynesia was settled by the Incas coming from South America, one of the reasons … Read entire article »

Filed under: Chile History, Chile Travel and Places, Pacific Islands

Chile History Timeline

Chile History Timeline

Chronological events in the history of Chile.   14,000 BC – Nomadic tribes arrive from the north to the area that today comprises Chile. 8,000-1,000 – Tribes become semisedentary and the Chinchorro become the dominant civilization in the area. They experiment with seeds and plants and discover agriculture. Along the coast and rivers inhabitants learn to build tools to gather fish and seashells. 200 AD – Inhabitants become sedentary and the Mapuche emerge as a distinctive tribe. 1475 – The … Read entire article »

Filed under: Chile History

Easter Island

Easter Island

Where is Easter Island? Easter Island is a tiny piece of land located in the south east of the Pacific Ocean, it is best known for its 887 giant statues called moai created by the Polynesian indigenous Rapa Nui . Its territory covers 64 sq miles or 166 sq kilometers, it is about 24km or 15m long and at its widest point 12 km or 8mi. The island was formed by volcano eruptions 750,000 years ago; today … Read entire article »

Filed under: Chile Travel and Places, Pacific Islands

Discover Chile

Discover Chile

Chile has established itself as an economic power in South America and a political leader in the continent.  Following liberal economic reform and social activism Chile has managed to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, it is far from eliminated but was able to expand its middle class bringing prosperity to more Chileans. Along with greater economic status Chileans have become better educated and more involved in politics demanding a more representative … Read entire article »

Filed under: Headline