Chile's Presidential Election; Heating Up!!



Only 40 days to go before Chileans elect a new president, and there are a few signs of the upcoming presidential election, refreshingly few compared to the maddening overkill of election propaganda that precedes elections in the US by tediously long months. The first candidate sign I saw was along the ciclovia where I walk each morning, for Michelle Bachelet, the candidate of the “Nueva Mayoría” movement she has organized for her campaign.  Then, several blocks away there was a sign for Laurence Golborne, who was an early candidate for the presidential nomination of the right-wing coalition, the Alianza, but he ran into trouble with some of his past business and personal finance acrobatics, and had to desist.  However, he is a relatively attractive, popular, and young politician, so he quickly got back in the game and is now running for a Senate seat and could ultimately become a player in the congress if, of course, he wins.  You may remember him as the ever-present Minister of Mining who oversaw the rescue of the 33 men trapped in a mine in northern Chile a couple of years back. 

After walking around a bit I finally found a large sign for Bachelet’s opponent, Evelyn Matthei, whose theme Un 7 Para Chile invokes the maximum grade students can earn in Chilean schools….a 7.  Alongside her sign was one for Andres Allamand, a center-right politician who tried to become the presidential candidate for the right wing Alianza coalition, but failed, so he is also running for Senator.  The candidate who beat him for the nomination was diagnosed shortly after with clinical depression, and also desisted, leaving the field open for the party leaders of the Alianza to choose  their candidate to run against Bachelet (and several others), and they chose Matthei.

But the campaigns for president and congress, like the weather in Santiago, are heating up.  The major candidates are slowly releasing their specific programs, initially focusing on the themes that were brought to the front (via the streets) over the past months especially by the series of student strikes, protests, and takeovers of schools (tomas).  The most passionate discussions are over the way education and health services should be financed (public vs. Private, free vs. subsidized), and whether the actual constitution (written during the military dictatorship and amended during the center-left Concertación administration of Ricardo Lagos) should be reformed/amended/modified via institutional processes or a constituent assembly.  There are 7 candidates for president in addition to Bachelet and Matthei, and in some ways these other candidates are more interesting in that many represent the next generation of Chilean politicians and refreshingly new political thought; they are more forward looking than either Bachelet or Matthei both of whom are seriously steeped in the past, a past many Chileans would like to move on from.

Moving on from some of the darker and more controversial periods in Chile’s recent history (let’s say, the last 45 years) is proving difficult. Many Chileans (and Chile watchers) appear to believe the only history of Chile worth considering began in 1973 with the golpe; others choose a starting point of 1970 with the election of the Socialist, self-described Marxist Salvador Allende; and others (myself included) rather prefer to see the modern history of Chile beginning with the election of Eduardo Frei Montalva in 1964, starting a period of progressive but destabilizing social and economic reforms much in concert with the Alliance for Progress and which directly challenged the power of the rightist, conservative, land owning minority who had arranged things nicely for themselves up to this point.  

Our arrival in Chile this time coincided with a significant increase in the level of public analysis of the golpe that led to the Pinochet military dictatorship, and to a degree, the Unidad Popular government of Allende (1970-73) that preceded (and led to) the golpe.  The series of celebrations and memorials held this year to note the 40th anniversary of the golpe (September 11) and the 15th anniversary of the NO plebiscite which confirmed the end of the dictatorship (October 5), uncorked a pent up need for deeper analysis and reflection on the meaning of these two events that so drastically changed the course of Chilean history.  Certainly one reason for this national catharsis is the political and historical juxtaposition of the two major presidential candidates, but another reason so much is being said about who did what and why during this period when Chile experimented with socialism and lost its hold on democratic government, I suggest, is that many of the major actors in the Allende and Pinochet governments, and the Concertacion governments who guided the transition from military dictatorship to democratic governance, are reaching a ripe old age where they are concerned about how history will judge them.  So they are helping history (while they can still remember what they did or wished they had done) by writing books describing all the challenges they faced, the hardships they persevered, the risks they took to take Chile in the right direction in the face of great opposition and personal sacrifice, all the while making sure to place a lot of the blame for what happened on the US and other outsiders meddling in Chile during the cold war. This period of pre-election reflection has definitely heated things up as the political campaigns now take off.

One way to look at the presidential election options in a general enough way so as to avoid getting bogged down in details, is in terms of how the candidates feel about the socio-economic-political “model” all administrations including and subsequent to the military dictatorship have applied for the last 25 to 30 years. This “model”, originating inside the Pinochet government and delineated in the constitution they wrote to guide Chile from then on, and then modified during the Lagos regime to eliminate some of the more egregious un-democratic, authoritarian clauses, to this day essentially defines socio-economic Chile as having a subsidiary State with utmost economic freedom, unrestricted private property, privatization of education, and limitations on social rights and political participation.  Basically, the present constitution establishes a market economy for the country and defines the institutions which ensure the continuation of this “model”.

Ex-president Bachelet governed Chile from 2006 to 2010 without seriously challenging this “model”; she wanted to make significant inroads in the health and other social sectors, but tried to do so without negatively affecting the economic model  she and her three elected predecessors inherited from the dictatorship.  Her concerns this time around, however, seem to be broader and she has stated that she is more willing to consider significant changes to the constitution that would lead to more political participation (larger congress with broader representation), and elimination of election processes that are favorable to the minority (bi-nominal election process, congressional voting processes that allow minority veto of initiatives). To make these changes she is willing to consider a constituent assembly to do so, an idea that reminds many wary Chileans of the type of populist politics recently practiced in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador, none of which most Chileans admire.

Bachelet is skating towards the election on the thin ice of her extremely broad coalition, unable to present concrete proposals for her administration because she must satisfy everyone from the Communist Party on the left, to the Christian Democrats who often position themselves in the very uncomfortable center right (especially on social issues like abortion and same sex marriage).  She is, therefore, in her public appearances and in the press, relying heavily on her down-to-earth personality, accessible and sympathetic, to appear open to the desires and needs of everyone, while not being too specific as to how she would satisfy so many demands.  Because of her soft touch delivery, people who listen to her walk away with the idea that she is to be trusted to give them what they want, without her having said precisely that.  In the face to harsh demands by the press and her opposition for a clearer and more specific program for her government should she be elected, she has promised to provide just such a document during the last week in October.  She claims, however, that there is virtue in locking herself in to a detailed set of promises now, since she is "still listening and consulting with everyone"; she believes a good leader is always ready to change course if a new, better idea pops up.

Matthei, on the other hand, is clearly more supportive of the “model”, while allowing that some changes  may be necessary to provide broader political participation in decision making but she is really not too excited about that either. She certainly is not interested in a constituent assembly to make changes to the constitution, believing any required changes can be made via normal institutional processes.  Her campaign has released a specific program for her future government, that focuses on measures to strengthen public security and ensure continued economic growth through establishment of clearer “rules of the game” and hence stability for investors, producers, consumers, and borrowers.  She would strengthen government transparency and supports more aggressive efforts to eliminate tax evasion and avoidance, but does not propose tax reform per se.  She believes the tax and constitutional reform proposals Bachelet has made would seriously weaken the economy.  She suggests that Chile should be looking to Finland and other Nordic countries for socio economic policies to emulate.

Right now most analysts and the "Chilean Street" are predicting Bachelet will win with a plurality of votes in the first round, in which case a runoff election would not be necessary.  However, the proliferation of candidates most of whom will take votes away from Bachelet not Matthei, could force the second round.  And, it is not entirely clear what the effect will be of the fact that this is the first presidential election held since the election law was changed to have automatic registration to vote but allow  voting to be voluntary. (In the past, Chileans had to register to vote, but then voting was required).

I have heard the view that the real issue now is not who will win, but how Bachelet decides to win, and how Mattei decides to lose.  To me it is what I imagine an election would look like between Barack Obama and Margaret Thatcher.  Although now that I think about it, maybe more like Hillary Clinton and Margaret Thatcher (although Michelle smiles more than Hillary, and Evelyn more than Margaret did!).

As I was walking home last evening from a discussion with a history professor from the Universidad Catolica who is doing research on the Peace Corps, I decided to pass by Avenida Suecia where the Peace Corps office was when my group of volunteers was in Chile in the late 1960s.  This trendy Providencia neighborhood that had classic mansions on tree-lined streets at that time has been turned into an area of high rise office and apartment buildings, so I was surprised to find that the old house that was the Peace Corps office is still there, painted entirely white and just as stately as I remember it.  Ironically, however, it now houses the national headquarters of the far right UDI  party, Matthei's party, and her campaign headquarters has been established right across the street.  Must be something seeping out of the walls of that house that make those who enter feel strongly about Chile and its development.

House on Avenida Suecia in Santiago where Peace Corps Headquarters was in 1960s

 

One more small election anecdote...remember Camila Vallejos, the attractive firebrand student leader who led the first student protests and strikes a couple of years ago which turned into an almost permanent student protest movement in opposition to the Pinera government and "the Model", who travelled around the world electrifying leftists everywhere and ended up being featured in favorable articles in the Economist and the New York Times?  Well, she is firmly ensconced in the communist party, is running for a deputy slot in the national Camara (like the US House of Representatives) from the La Florida neighborhood of Santiago, and has just had a healthy baby girl.  She is as active and attractive as ever.

Stay tuned....more to come.

Posted in Santiago on October 9, 2013.

 
 

Santiago Today

 

It’s curious, but I can begin to sense Chile well before I actually arrive.  Equally curious is the persistent independent bent of Chileans, in full form when travelling.  Assignment of specific seats on our airplane are taken by many of my fellow travelers as “suggested”, the polite urging by the pilot to “please take your seat” seems to apply only to some of the passengers (apparently just the “gringos”, meaning north Americans and most Europeans except Italians and Greeks!), and the fasten seat belt sign, when translated from English to Spanish, must come across as optional, a sort of “last call” announcement stimulating a rush by some to take down carry-on bags from the overhead compartment (where they were just deposited 5 minutes ago) to take out something very important, and by others a scramble back several rows to again say something to a travelling partner who is seated separately because at the last minute, which is when most made their arrangements, there were no longer any seats together.

Of course the most convincing Chile alert is the high-pitched chorus of “weón”, “wea”, and increasingly “weona”, cementing the reality that, in fact, we are on our way to Chile.

Santiago and Andes Mountains

Arriving these days at the international airport in Santiago is apt to test your patience, especially after the 9 or 10 hour flight from the US.  Chile is experiencing an incredible increase in air travel; the number of foreigners travelling to Chile on business and for tourism, and Chileans travelling within Chile and internationally has outpaced the airport infrastructure, so the lines to pass through International police and even to pay for products purchased in the duty free store are now terribly long, especially in the morning when many of the international flights arrive. Only a couple of years back this was not the case, but the demands of Chile’s relative prosperity continue to outpace projections of the infrastructure required.  

Corner of Pedro de Valdivia and Bilbao Avenues in Santiago

But on the other hand, a more important sign that we have arrived in Chile is the pleasant, while efficient, personal treatment with which the mostly young Chilean immigration and customs officials welcome us.  Compared to the characteristically uncivil verbal “roughing up” travelers are getting from “security” agents in US ports of exit/entry, the difference is noteworthy.  Chileans are still a very welcoming bunch…and polite.

We arrived in Chile to find Santiago under a guata de burro (donkey’s belly) sky, grey and cold but not rainy.  It is, after all, early spring in Chile, a time of year when we are not usually here, preferring the warmer summer months of January through April.  But everyone reassured us that it would be warming up soon.  They were right, but not before a week of night-time zero degree (C) temperatures which unfortunately produced a freeze and icing in the fruit growing regions of the central valley of the country, possibly affecting as much as 65% of the flowering at the time.  If it has to be something, let it be the pears and apples, hopefully not the wine grapes.

I love arriving at our place in Santiago, to take the pulse of this vibrant city and to go through the ritual celebratory first activities of arrival.  This time, I notice that traffic is more congested than I remember even from last year, as more and more Chileans own bigger, newer, and more expensive cars, stretching the limits of the urban infrastructure, complicated by the problems and inefficiencies of the public transport system, the infamous “Transantiago”, which in constant reform and benefiting from a permanent and high subsidy, continues to disappoint.   The drivers of all these cars are paying about $US 1.50 per litre of gasoline, about 50% higher than what we pay in the US; I'm not sure how they do it, since at the same time Chile's GDP per capita, while highest for a Latin American country, is only around $US 14,000.  A recent survey claims that 18% of a Chilean family's monthly expenditures is for food, 16% for transportation, and 20% for housing.

$US 1 = 500 Chilean Pesos

A consequence of the high cost of gasoline and traffic congestion is that the bicycle has been rediscovered.  I say rediscovered because it (along with the horse) was the most common mode of transportation in rural Chile when I first arrived over 45 years ago.  The bicycle has now been replaced by cars and public transportation for the most part in the countryside and small towns, but it is fast becoming a preferred mode of urban transport especially for students and young professionals.  I discovered, on my first morning walk through my neighborhood, teams of workers repaving the ciclovia that runs the length of a park along a main street running through the Comuna de Providencia where we have our apartment. A station has popped up at the end of the park where bicycles can be rented and later returned or deposited in another location throughout the city and a clear sign of the times is that the rental process for these bikes is all done with digital hand held computers.  To my pleasant surprise, right next to the bike rental station they have established one of several trash recycle stations cropping up throughout this part of the city, another encouraging sign that Chileans may finally be doing something about more sophisticated waste removal.

Bike rental and recycling station

Paving cycle path

CencoSud tower

A quick panoramic check from my 8th floor balcony reveals that the brand new flashy 70-floor CencoSud tower being built along the Mapocho River in the financial district  referred to as “Sanhatten” appears to be completed, except for the spire I believe they are planning to place on top so that, when finished, it will be the tallest building in South America (and the second tallest in the southern hemisphere), quite an undertaking in such a seismically challenged country.  The opening of this monument to one man’s vanity (and wealth) was first delayed by an economic slowdown in 2011, and is now being delayed further while the municipality and the owners of the building figure out what to do about the significant increase in automobile traffic that will result in the already jammed surrounding streets.




Machas a la parmesana &vino blanco



Farmer's market, Los Dominicos

Tomatoes that taste like tomatoes

Eggplant and green peppers

Farmer's market; artichokes

And, in case you were wondering, the customary “welcome to Chile” lunch of machas a la parmesana and pisco sours were better than ever, and the required early Saturday morning visit to the feria de los chacareros (farmer’s market) near the Los Dominicos church reminded us again of Chile’s bountiful agriculture.  The vegetables in this and a myriad of other fresh markets  in Santiago and throughout the country present an amazing array of healthy food, including big red tomatoes which taste like tomatoes, huge artichokes and eggplant, big juicy yellow onions, the first green peas and beans of the season, several different types of lettuce, the biggest stalks of celery you have ever seen, and of course thick white and green asparagus. 



Tunas (cactus apples)

Chirimoya



Strawberries

The fruits are even more amazing (although it is a bit early for some of Chile’s most well-known varieties), featuring apples, grapes, and pears from last season, and the first tuna (cactus apples), chirimoya, huge crimson strawberries, lemons, limes, juice oranges and the small greenish yellow limones de pica used to make the best pisco sours.
 



Salmon, congrio, clams, mussles

Congrio and Albacore

Scallops

The seafood stand in this market boasted on this sunny but cool Saturday morning a most impressive variety of glisteningly fresh fish and shellfish Chilean waters have to offer:  the most favored congrio (colorado and dorado), corvina (true sea bass, not to be confused with the very different mero sold in the US as Chilean Sea Bass), merluza Española (hake), albacora (albacore tuna), pejerreyes (small smelt-like fish called sea silverside), octopus, salmon, the now popular reineta, clams, mussels, oysters, scallops, and of course machas (the fabulous razor clam commonly eaten in soup, raw with salsa verde which is chopped onion and parsley, or a la parmesana! ).  A traditional favorite in Chile is the loco (abalone).  Over the years it has come in and out of the Chilean diet due to over-harvesting and resultant limits on the amount that can be taken, and of course the price varies, from high to higher.  Today they were selling medium sized out-of-the-shell locos for the equivalent of US$ 3.00 each. 



Chilean oysters

Locos

We brought home a whole merluza, fileted at the market, that Ximena sautéed with fresh herbs and dark green Chilean olive oil, and a bag of machas we baked in the oven with a drop of white wine and parmesan cheese sprinkled on top of each one.

We are in Chile now because in mid-November Chileans will elect a president to replace Sebastian Pinera, and since the two principal candidates are both women, daughters of air force generals who in spite of being colleagues and friends chose opposite sides in the military coup in 1973, the event should be memorable, in my mind worthy of up-close observation. 

We have been in Chile for a little more than a week and the cold snap now seems to have passed, so early spring turns to late spring and the electioneering is just beginning to warm up.  So, we are off to the  quaint port of Valparaiso for a couple of days, then maybe to the northern 4^th region, La Serena and pisco country (Limari and Elqui valleys), and there is even talk of a trip along the Carretera Austral, the new highway that runs south from Puerto Montt through continental Chiloe and Aisen, where the fiord and permanent glacier region of Chile begins.  This is the one part of Chile I am unfamiliar with, so I hope to have much to share with you in future postings as a result.

Posted in Santiago, Chile, on October 7, 2013 (on my Aunt Lucy Joslyn’s 103 birthday, which she is celebrating with friends in West Seneca, NY).

Zorba, Xenia and Nostos—Alive and Well in Crete

“Teach me to Dance!” he cried to Alexis Zorba, drenched in failure but enlightened by a freed spirit.  Stiff and scholarly Basil finally succumbed to Alexis Zorba’s exuberance and would now begin to pursue life in a way he never thought possible.  I have watched that movie Zorba the Greek about two dozen times since it came out in the early 1960s, just as I was finishing high school, and to this day it is one of my favorite movies.

So, this past summer, on our way to spend a few days on the island of Crete, I downloaded the book upon which the movie was based, Nikos Kazantzakis’ Zorba the Greek, and read it on the plane.    As we were circling to land, our plane passed directly over Stavros Beach, where Anthony Quinn as Zorba had attempted to rig his ill-fated transport system to bring mine timbers down from the forested hills above.  It is the beach that Zorba wanabes still visit to dance, barefooted and full of ouzo, like Quinn did to “celebrate” his engineering failure; and his life.  This is perfect, I said to myself a we landed in late afternoon at the small, simple airport which serves Chania, the ancient but vibrant port city on the northwestern shore of the largest of the Greek islands.

 

Our good friends and hosts for this Cretan visit, Georgia and Aris, hustled us directly to their home, ideally perched on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean sea (more precisely the Aegean sea, and even more precisely, the Cretan sea), and immediately delivered on what they had promised us: Greek hospitality and Cretan food, in this case roast goat and grilled octopus.

From this moment when we sat on the veranda looking over the deep blue sea and dry hills dotted with olive trees, for the next ten days, we experienced the fabled Xenia, a concept of hospitality that flows from Zeus and figures so eminently in Homer's Odyssey.

Chania

Downtown Chania

Central market in Chania

Twice we meandered through the streets of Chania; this cozy, colorful city “conquered” over the ages by the Romans, the Venetians, and of course the Ottomans (as well as destroyed by the Germans).  During the day the streets teem with tourists, artisans, and hustlers, the central market is replete with fresh fish, lamb, cheese, honey, olives and more olive oil than you can imagine.  Seafood restaurants ring the harbor where locals and visitors blend together to enjoy an outdoor patio lunch of those fantastic and sometimes unidentifiable meze, fried marides(smelt) and gavros (anchovies), and of course an occasional ouzo to reset the palate.

I was born in rural upstate New York, but I think it was meant for me to be from somewhere like Chorafakia, the town nearest to Aris and Georgia’s house, or maybe even Vatolakkos, a bit further into the hills where Georgia was born, where she and her siblings still own land covered with olive and orange trees.  As we explore Crete, I am tempted to imagine that with a slight change in fortune, I might have been born in the Mediterranean, in fact, possibly in Italy where my maternal grandparents emigrated from around the penultimate turn of the century, either in Abruzzi, or Sicily.  But instead I ended up living out my youth in temperate USA, Penn Yan, New York, in Yates County and the Township of Jerusalem, a dry, alcohol free jurisdiction that surely drove me to drink at an early age. I have since been fortunate to reside long periods of time in Italy and the Mediterranean climate of Chile, counteracting to some degree the slow start I had in developing my relationship with the grape, the olive, and sunny, dry days and nights.



Knossos

Mosque in Chania

My maternal Mediterranean genes (Simonelli/Encavo) began to kick into high gear as Georgia and Aris introduced us to archaeological Crete (Knossos with its raging bulls, and the renovated museum and palace in Heracleum), as we scratched the surface of historical Crete with visits to the impressive Eleftherios Venizelos tomb with its panoramic overview of Chania, the Turkish mosque on the Chania harbor now a pottery museum, and Souda Bay with its allied WW II cemetery and its sheltered harbor used by myriad navies over the years and NATO forces presently.

Hora Sfakion

A memorable day trip over the mountains to the southern shore village of Hora Sfakion not only exposed the natural beauty of inland Crete, but also a most remarkably lovely seaside village with its layers of white-walled homes draped with multicolored bougainvillea, where we dined at a shore side taverna on moussaka, grilled garides (shrimp), supia (cuttlefish) stew, and pasta balls filled with shaved pork.

Goat being prepared at Lake Kouras

Another trip into the hills in central Crete took us to Lake Kouras, where the cones of white smoke rising above the lakeside eateries led us directly to the Eye of the Lake Taverna and a delicious lunch of roast goat, Greek salad, grilled sausage and warm country bread served with an eggplant spread and deep green olive oil.  Pitchers of local wine made the time fly, but complicated a bit our return home on the winding road leading to this beautiful lake.

Georgia, Dave, Aris, Alexandra, and Ximena at Manousakis Winery

The old Manousakis home

Dave in the Manousakis winery

Georgia’s home town, Vatolakkos, is a short drive from Chania, in the Lofka Ori hills, and on the outskirts of this quaint town is the Manousakis Winery, owned by Georgia’s brother.  We visited several times, for it is the epitome of the concept of “Terroir”, that special place where people and the land meet.  The old stone house with vine-covered terraces where the Manousakis wines are tasted is so welcoming you wonder, upon visiting, what on earth could be more important to make you ever want to leave this heavenly place.  But what is even more enticing about this little winery is the magnetism of Alexandra (Georgia’s niece) who manages the winery and provides the hospitality visits at the winery.  Alexandra, beautiful, engaging, and a perfect hostess and representative of the Manousakis family just by her presence makes the place feel warm and exciting.  The winery guide and tasting director, Afshin, with his exuberance for the intricacies of wine and his knowledge of the Manousakis wines, provides texture and depth to a visit.

Lunch at the Winery

The Manousakis Winery produces under the label “Nostos”, another Homeric concept meaning “welcome home”, or "homecoming", and from which the modern concept of "nostalgia" is derived.  The winery and the old family home is certainly laden with nostalgia, while at the same time it exudes a huge dose of optimism as the winery expands and grows.  Under the guiding hand of winemaker Kostis, they produce a dry white Roussanne, a Syrah, a blend named Nostos Manousakis, a dry rose made with Grenache and Syrah grapes named “Pink”, and a delicate blend of Syrah, Mourvedre and Grenache grapes named appropriately “Alexandra”.  If I could only drink one of these wines, it would most likely be the Nostos Manousakis blend, but the others have their place especially on warm, sunny, dry days to accompany lunch.  Manousakis claims his wines capture the flavors of the vegetation that grows in this region: rosemary, thyme, marjoram, sage, lavender and chamomile.  It seems to me that it is absolutely true, especially as you sit under the arbor on the veranda of the old house sipping these wines.  “Terroir” is partly mental.

Afshin presenting a tasting

A tasting with Alexandra and Afshin, highly recommended for anyone visiting Western Crete, usually includes a lunch of stuffed vegetables (tomatoes, green and red pepper, zucchini flowers), beef and squid stew, and fresh hearty local bread, brought to with winery from the Taverna Pemptovsia located in the neighboring town of Alikianos.

Lunch at Taverna Pemptovsia

As our stay in Crete drew to the end, I had yet to sink my bare feet into the sands of Stavros beach, to pay homage to Zorba.  Being attracted by Zorba’s personality is not a frivolous fancy. When Nikos Kazantzakis was asked which of all the characters he had written about would he most like to meet in real life, including those in his Report to Greco where he journeyed through the world visiting the souls of Christ, Buddha, Lenin and Odysseus, he responded: Alexis Zorba!!  There is, at least to some of us, something truly magnetic about Zorba, whom someone (who knows who or why) referred to as "a violent man of action who reveled in deliriums of flesh and freedom".

Stavros Beach

Dave...doing his Zorba thing

So my hosts, nowhere near as attracted to Zorba as I, finally took us to the Stavros beach.  We stood on the beach and gazed up at the hills where the timber transport was built, and I could feel the earth rumble, imagining those huge timbers travelling down the hillside only to gather so much speed they would destroy the entire operation after only one run.  The bar that was until recently across from the beach, where one of the Academy Awards the movie earned had been exhibited for years, is now gone, destroyed by a fire I was told, and the award along with it.  The beach area that day was almost deserted, although the Taverna Zorba was operating and we had a nice dinner there of grilled pork chops and lots of Cretan wine. I was finally at the epicenter of that great movie, Zorba the Greek, and I was satisfied.

Aris dancing in Chania

My host, Aris, who is not Cretan but rather from the mainland (as was Alexis Zorba, for that matter), was, I think, motivated to distract me from my infatuation inclination with Zorba, so on one of our last evenings in Crete, he and Georgia took Alexandra, Afshin, Ximena and me to a dingy taverna on one of the narrow streets in the center of Chania for dinner.  He knew there would be a group playing Greek music, and sure enough, well into the evening after much ouzo, wine and tsikoudia, Aris got up and danced.  He jumped (leaped, really), slapped his heels, squatted several times, and pranced around to the applause and delight of everyone in the taverna.  Georgia finally joined Aris in this very personal and individualized Greek dance, since she sensed Aris was tiring and may need support.  Like with Zorba, I believe dancing was Aris’ way of celebrating life that night and showing his love and deep respect for his presently troubled Greece.

Dave and Aris, doing what they do best

Ouzo and gavros

Georgia's sea bream

The last night in Crete, we were treated by Georgia, as was the case the night we arrived, to a Cretan dinner on the veranda of Aris and Georgia’s lovely home: broiled fresh tsipura (sea bream), gavros in olive oil, and our last few glasses of cold Cretan wine. 

Xenia!  There is no better word to explain how Georgia and Aris, aided and abetted by the Island of Crete and her Cretans, wrapped our ten-day visit up in layers of Xenia.  But Xenia is a two dimensional concept; host treats guests well, without qualms or questions, AND guest does not burden the host.  Fair enough.  It was time for us to leave, so we departed, but with an invitation to return, and a promise that we would do just that.

The last supper

Zorba, Xenia, and Nostos; Alive and well in Krete.

Posted in Leesburg, Virginia on August 18, 2013

Finally, a night in Dichato

It was a little over three years ago that my plan to spend a night in the small, tidy coastal village of Dichato was frustrated when I decided instead to continue on to a hotel a few kilometers further south in Chile's third largest city, Concepción.  What transpired that night I have documented in of the first postings in this Blog and several updates subsequently through the next 3 years.  Dichato was destroyed by the tsunami that accompanied the tremendous earthquake the morning of February 27, 2010, and I escaped by a hair being part of that scene. Still, my hotel in Concepción suffered considerable damage and in the process provided me with a frightening experience I hope never to repeat, but one that has tied me emotionally to the people of the affected areas of the Maule and Bío Bío regions of Chile.

Dichato from site of new homes for tsunami victims

Much has been written about Dichato's recovery; it is the poster child in a way for disaster recovery in Chile.  Totally destroyed, relief was slow to the small town, until the affected population, desperate for shelter to face the imminent winter, took matters into their own hands and blocked the main road connecting Concepción and the rest of the country to a wealthy vacation development, Pingueral, a few kilometers to the north of Dichato.  Pingeral was relatively untouched by the tsunami that destroyed Dichato, but these more well off and powerful inhabitants of Pingueral were unable to reach their homes and felt threatened by the precarious and unsightly camps set up for the homeless.  So, being more connected to the new Piñera government than the residents of Dichato, they pressured the recently installed government agency directors in charge of the relief effort to provide help immediately to Dichato.  This pressure, plus unsettling news reports of the desperate situation of one of the most affected towns that reached the capital city, caused a major effort to "fix Dichato".

Because of the fact that I planned to stay, but did not, that fated night in Dichato three years ago, I have tried to follow the recovery process in this small village, a task made easier by my close relationship with Ned Strong, the Director of Harvard's David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies regional office in Santiago, Chile, through which several community based disaster recovery programs named RecuperaChile are being implemented in Dichato and two other surrounding towns affected by the 2010 earthquake and tsunami.  For details see http://www.recuperachile.cl/#!home/c5xg .

So when I returned to Chile this year, I was thrilled by Ned's immediate agreement to accompany me to Dichato, to see first hand what the situation is for the town, 80% destroyed (16 reported deaths), and the 370 families left homeless.  We were hosted in Dichato by Dr. Martín Zilic, who owns an old home in the center of Dichato which, interestingly enough, was not affected by the tsunami due to its location on a small raised area around which the tsunami waters chose to advance inland.  Dr. Zilic, a surgeon who has held several important political positions over the past 20 years, is an advisor to the Harvard disaster relief projects in Dichato.

Martín guided us around Dichato.  First, we walked along the newly inaugurated bay side pedestrian walkway constructed along the entire beach over which the tsunami roared that morning to destroy the town.

New pedestrian walkway along beach

  The two blocks of homes closest to the shore that were totally destroyed have been condemned, their owners compensated, and plans for a community park and sporting activity area are to be implemented this year.  We visited the roadside site of the main encampment where the temporary structures for the homeless eventually were  established  after the event.  Life in this encampment was tough, in part because it was hurried to be established before the winter rain

Fortified walkway

and cold set in, but also because it was set up from the start to be temporary, with very fragile construction and community instead of individual services (water, bathrooms).  Security was weak, and many who had options removed their children, especially girls, to homes of relatives or friends in other localities.  So these three years have been difficult for the residents of this temporary village. 

Now, three new housing sites, new neighborhoods in fact, have been established on the outskirts of Dichato, one an apartment complex near the water and the others on hills above town.  Reportedly 75% of the homeless have obtained their new homes through government provided subsidies and these new neighborhoods are being finalized with paved roads, parks for children, and areas for commercial businesses.

New homes for victims on the hill behind Dichato

New homes

New homes

Two smaller neighboring fishing villages, Villarrica to the north and Coliumo to the south, share the Coliumo Bay with Dichato (and the wealthier Pingueral complex), and except for Pingueral, were also greatly affected by the tsunami.  Facilitated by Martín's familiarity with inhabitants of these villages, we observed closely one of the projects to replace the destroyed fishermen's homes with a model of wooden homes built at water's edge on concrete and metal stilts, copying the picturesque "palafitos" characteristic to Castro, the vibrant capitol city of the grand island of Chiloé more than one thousand kilometers south of Santiago. 

In the Villarrica village, we visited the new restaurant  Don Mino, rebuilt with a lot of determination, hard work, and a loan from the government development organization CORFO.  Don Mino thinks the homes on stilts "are an embarrassment to our community,
forced on them, shortly after the tsunami, by an aggressive, well meaning, but tone deaf politician from Concepción."


Don Mino's Restaurant



Ned, Don Mino, and Dave

He, on the other hand, claims to have resisted the pressure to rebuild in a certain way, but still obtained the government subsidized loan and built his new restaurant his way; and he seems to be doing very well. 



Homes on stilts in Villarrica Village

Home/restaurant on stilts in Coliumo Village

It is pretty clear just by looking, that the stilt homes in Villarrica Village are nowhere near as integrated into the village as the ones in Coliumo Village.  The idea to build these homes on stilts surely was one of those "imported" ideas, probably from someone who doesn't live in these villages, nor ever will.  The idea certainly did not come from anyone over 60 years old, for to get into these homes you have to climb a long, steep set of stairs.  My guess is these curious structures will end up being B and B type rental units for city folks who want to spend a few days with a fishing village view.

Filled with questions after visiting the area, we returned to Martín's home and spent the evening talking about the difficulties the outgoing Bachelet government faced to respond to this disaster and the way the Piñera government has managed the huge recovery program over the past three years.  It is fair to say that for years the Chilean government had seriously neglected creating the necessary disaster preparedness and response institutions an earthquake prone country like Chile requires.  So Bachelet's response was limited by the inadequacy of her country's institutions, and the record shows that some people died as a result of the lack of timely information regarding the threat of a tsunami.  As well, it can be argued that the strained relations between the Bachelet government and the Chilean military, a carryover condition from the period of the military dictatorship, resulted in a delay in calling in the necessary uniformed forces to maintain order and prevent looting and other crimes in the most vulnerable neighborhoods, especially in Concepción and Talcahuano.

It is also fair to recognize that in many dimensions, Piñera's approach to rebuilding the affected areas in three short years has been remarkable, especially rebuilding the important physical infrastructure of highways and bridges, basic services of energy and water, schools, health clinics, and residences for the homeless. Of special note is the speed with which facilities were made available for school children to enter classes near the start of the school year shortly after the quake. 

While there are still criminal charges pending against the then Intendente of the Bío Bío Region (Bachelet appointee) and the Chief Commander of the Navy in the same region for their role and responsibility to provide the public with information regarding the threats the population faced that morning of the earthquake and tsunami, it is interesting that in the recent local elections held in Chile a far greater number of candidates aligned with political parties sympathetic to the Bachelet governing coalition were elected to contested positions than those associated with the Piñera government.  A general conclusion, albeit probably overly simplistic, could be that even though Bachelet's initial response was flawed, and the Piñera government's reconstruction efforts have been quite successful, the political implications of this disaster do not seem to have turned this traditionally left-leaning area of Chile against Bachelet nor appreciably more in favor of the center right Piñera.

As we delved deeper into the politics of disaster relief in Dichato with Martín, though, our attention was shifted to another theme to which this blog and this writer are intimately attached; food!!  Martín's father-in-law, Fructuoso Biel Cascante, was staying that night along with us at the Zilic Dichato home, but had remained relatively quiet during dinner as we talked about the 2010 disaster, although he had mentioned that he was also a surgeon, once associated with the Concepción University.  But to my surprise and great pleasure, Martín explained that several years ago Fructuoso and his wife Pina authored a fantastic cookbook entitled El Fogón de Don Fructuoso, a signed copy of which I received from Fructuoso after a long and detailed discussion of classic Chilean dishes like cazuela, caldillo de congrio, gambas al pil pil, and Spanish dishes like cocido a la Madrileña, paella Doña Guadalupe, Croquetas abuelita Lupe, tortilla de verduras, and of course, his secrets for making a perfect sangría.  There is nothing that compares with discussing the tricks of the gastronomic adventure with a 93 year old "foodie".  

Ned, Don Fructuoso (and his book), and Dave

Besides his beautiful book, I came away with new approaches to preparing fried congrio (just a thin layer of flour should cover the two inch congrio steak cut across the girth of the fish, including the center bone, rather than filets), what cheese to use on machas a la parmesana (just grated aged parmesan, not soft queso blanco or mantecoso so often found) , and how to flip a Spanish tortilla to make sure both sides are nicely browned (use a plate, slip the browned side of tortilla onto the plate, then place the frying pan over the tortilla upside down, and flip over rapidly before returning the pan to the fire on the stove).  These may seem like simple, maybe even well-known tricks, but I am much surer about these now that I have heard this directly from my new favorite chef and author, Don Fructuoso Biel.


Early the next morning Ned, Martín and I met with Pilar del Campo, a young but experienced social worker with the Municipality of Tomé, that covers Dichato.  She is experienced with health education and programs that attempt to reduce violence to women and children.  Pilar helps coordinate the Harvard activities in Dichato, including a plan to integrate Concepción University sociology department students in projects with children in Dichato.  Pilar is supported in her work by a psychologist, Dr. Mario Valdivia, also from the University.  One of the main objectives of the Harvard project is to rebuild the civil infrastructure of Dichato that is so important to the socio-economic well being of the village that depends on tourism (vacationers, more exactly) served mostly by small businesses. 

Don Eduardo's, the first restaurant to open after the tsunami

Owners of shops, stores, restaurants, and service organizations who lost their locales, materials, and tools in the tsunami are being helped with a program to link them to sources of loans, grants and technical assistance to reestablish their businesses.

Pilar is a tireless professional dedicated to making Dichato a better place to live, an optimist with an infectious faith in one special group of Dichato residents:  women.  Pilar passionately explained to us how immediately after the disaster, it was three women who took over the leadership of the three informal neighborhoods (aldeas) into which Dichato is loosely organized, and guided the people through the worst of the after effects of the disaster, organizing, pushing, encouraging, demanding assistance, and anything it took to get the village functioning again.  According to her, the men in the responsible positions in the Tomé Mayor's office and his delegate in Dichato did virtually nothing.  The three women formed neighbor groups (juntos de vecinos), and are behind ambitious programs supporting tourism, water sports, and gastronomy development.

This past summer the town was jammed with visitors the entire vacation period.  Dozens of restaurants and other services were fully functioning all summer, many assisted by Chilean government and private programs like the Harvard project rebuilding the civic infrastructure of Dichato.  A major music festival was held on the new coastal walkway, and many politicians and well known artists participated.  Pilar and the women neighborhood leaders are involved in a movement to form Dichato's own political Town (Comuna) structure, freeing it from dependency on a Comuna leadership based in a larger neighboring town, often indifferent to Dichato's needs.

Martin, Pilar, Dave, and Maria Soledad Biel in Dichato

Does all of this mean that we should be optimistic about Dichato's recovery from such total disaster?  Pilar says yes. With the confidence and conviction that is so natural to social workers, she firmly believes that "in ten years Dichato will be reinvented, more attractive than ever and with better services for visitors and townspeople alike."  I want to agree with her, but I still plan to return next year when I visit Chile, to check with her and Martín.  And if Don Fructuoso is still there when I visit, I'll go with him to have a plate of perfectly prepared congrio frito at Don Mino's restaurant.