Spanish Unit 8 Culture

What can one see in El Centro of Santiago?

El Centro houses La Moneda, the presidential palace, and Plaza de Armas.

What is a cheamulle?

A chilean artifact carved of wood with exaggerated figures that was used for burial rites and graves.

What are the demographics of Chile?

A large community of Spanish speakers, accented with nine indigenous groups that make up 5% of the population: Mapuche, Aymara, Atacameños, Rapa Nui, Quecha, Colla, Diaguita, Kwashkar and Yamana.

What is El Paseo Ahumada?

El Paseo Ahumada is a smaller part of Plaza de Armas that is rich in culture, shopping, and a hill called el Cerro Cristobal. Here is the Chilean Museum of Pre-Colombian Art, created in 1805, in a building that was previously royal quarters, then a government building for the library and courts. It was created by Larraín Garcia and is organized by cultural era (Aztec, chilean, etc).

What was Claudio Bravo Camus's adult career like?

After being kicked out of the Miguel Venegas School for damaging a painting, he had a showing in Santiago in 1954, which was a major success. He worked in Concepción, then moved to Spain to draw portraits for the upper class, including one for the daughter of Francisco Franco, a dictator. Later, he moved to NYC in the 1960s, then to Morroco in 1974, where he remained till his death in 2011.

Who were Antonia Tarragó and Isabel Le Brun?

Antonia Tarragó and Isabel Le Brun both paved the way to education equality between boys and girls by opening two separate schools; Antonia opened el Colegio Santa Teresa in 1864, and Le Brun opened a school in 1975.

Where is Chile?

Chile is in South America on the Pacific coast; it is stretched out like a snake. On the side opposite the coast, Chile borders Peru, Argentina, and Bolivia. It is only about 200 miles wide at the largest point and includes some Easter Islands.

What influence has indigenous language had on Chilean Spanish and Spanish as a whole?

Chilean Spanish has derived many words from Mapudungun and Quechan language, such as copihue (flower) and poncho (Mapudungun), and cancha (playing field) and choclo (corn) (Quechan)

Who is Claudio Bravo Camus? Where was he born? What was his childhood like?

Claudio Bravo Camus is a famous Chilean artist born in Valaparíso in 1936 to a wealthy father and 6 siblings. He was raised to work the land, which he disliked, because he loved to draw; his father disapproved. It was only when a priest, Father Dusuel, discovered Claudio's talent and sent him to learn at a prestigious art school that Claudio's father accepted his skill.

What was Claudio Bravo Camus's art style? Who were his inspirations?

Claudio Bravo Camus's art style was labelled as hyperrealism, and he drew inspiration from the European Renaissance and artists such as Fra Angelico and Vermeer. Later, he also integrated influence from Salvador Dalí's surrealist works into his style. He is well known for paintings of curtains, packages, Fantasmas, and los relojes.

Hispanic culture and child-raising.

Hispanic cultures typically rely on other family to watch after children, instead of going to daycare centers. Extended family members may even function as stand-in or secondary parents. There is an important sense of honoring and caring for family, especially elders.

What is Plaza de Armas?

In El Centro of Santiago, Plaza de Armas was the first part of the city, and from it all expands - for this reason it was called kilometer zero. As well as being a social place, it houses many important buildings, such as the 200-year old Catedral Metropolitana. Museums, housed in historical buildings, are also common. For example, the El Museo Postal y Telegráfico museum in the old national post building, and the National Museum in the old El Palacio de la Real Audiencia y Cajas Reales. One can also visit El Paseo Ahumada.

Who was Eloísa Días Insunza?

Insunza was the first woman to ever apply to the medicine program of the University of Chile in 1880, and was accepted in 1887 when a law was passed to permit it. She became the first woman in Chile and in South America to get a medical degree.

Who is José Donoroso? Tell his brief biography.

José Donoroso is a famous Chilean writer. He was born to a wealthy family in 1924 in Santiago, and attended many prestigious universities, including Princeton and the University of Iowa. He moved back to Chile for a job as a journalist, but relocated to Mexico and then Europe, before eventually settling in Spain as a self-imposed exile because he despised Chile's dictator, Augusto Pinochet, so intensely. In the 1980s, Donoroso returned to Chile and won the National Literature Prize, wrote a few more books, and died.

What is José Donoroso's style? What are some books of his?

José Donoroso, interestingly, critiqued the societal class of aristocracy, even though he was born within it. He was known to toy with dark and surrealist themes. He wrote the Coronation, a book of a single man who witnessess his grandmother's last days; the book intertwines themes of decadence, insanity, and identity. He also wrote Where Elephants Go to Die.

What is a traditional Chilean Asado like?

Large families, including extended, gather together to celebrate just about anything. They conversate, sing, play games, and eat. Popular dishes include all kinds of meat on the grill (la parilla), such as steak, chorizos, ribs, and anticuchos (meat skewers). The meat is typically topped with pebre, a salsa-like sauce made from tomatoes, onions, cilantro, garlic and chilies. For birthdays, pineapple or lúcama cakes are popular, and no celebration is complete without the manteo of lifting the birthday person up by the legs and arms and tossing them as many times as they are old.

Who was Matilde Throup?

Matilde Throup was the first Chilean woman to get a law degree. She attended the University of Chile.

Who is Pablo Neruda?

Pablo Neruda was a Nobel-Prize Winning author and artist who lived in Valaparaíso, Chile. His childhood home, called La Sebastiana, has become a quirky museum that preserves his unique way of life. It is poised atop the Cerro Bellavista hill.

What is the capital of Chile?

Santiago de Chile/Chile. It is the most populous city, with over 6 million inhabitants. The next biggest cities have less than 1 million, for perspective.

Where is Santiago? When was it discovered?

Santiago, the capital and most populous city of Chile, is located in the Central Valley near the Mapocho river. To the west are vineyards, and the east Mountains. It was discovered by Spanish Conquistador Pedro de Valdivia in 1541.

What are some traditional Chilean children's games?

Tejo: players use a rock and try to get it on top of or as close to a rope 20 feet away (comparable to Horseshoes). El palo ensebado: players try and climb a greased pole to reach a gift at the top. Las bolitas: marbles made from glass, stone, steel, and clay.

Briefly describe the Mapuche people.

The Mapuche people are the most populous indigenous group of Chile, speaking Mapudungun. They are an ancient group with evidence of their existence dating back to 600 BC, but are most well known for their 300yr resistance to the Spaniards, and achieving recognition as independence later. Most live in urban areas such as Santiago, but traditional groups exist in smaller frequency, relying on farming and livestock-raising, run under a chief.

Briefly describe the Quecha people.

The Quecha people, around 6000 in number in Chile, descended from the Incas and managed to keep the ancient language of the Incas intact. They were known for fantastic advancements in technology and practices, such as irrigation, domestication, and canals.

What is the climate of Chile like? What is a notable natural landmark?

The climate is varied because of the diversity of Chile; on the west is the coast, on the east are the Andes Mountains, on the north is the Atacama Desert, and in the middle are fertile valleys. Chile has the highest lake and active volcano, the Ojos Saldados, which is a lake formed from a crater at 21,000 feet.

What is the "Chile Grows With You" Program?

The program is a government-run program that provides access to childcare facilities to poor families.

Where is Valaparaíso? Briefly describe it.

Valaparaíso is north of Santiago, on the coast of Chile. It is known as Pancho by locals. It became a World Heritage Site in 2002 because it is 500 years old and houses the country's largest port. It is best described as a hilly, colonial city, with colorful buildings and a fantastic view of the bay. It has five main neighborhoods. Fun sights include the Severín Library, the Port Market shops, and the Plaza Victoria and the Plaza Victoria's Cathedral.