About two weeks ago we crossed the border from Argentina at Paso Los Libertadores. We flew down the other side, dropping some insane amount of feet, meters, yards, into the central valley of Chile - land of vines, wines, cheap avocados and of the city Santiago.
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| Paso Libertadores with Loic | El Paso Libertadores con Loic |
Caroline, my friend and coworker, is studying abroad here and she and
her host family have graciously opened their doors to us. Jessica is a
public health worker who focuses on sexual education and HIV
treatment-prevention, Ricardo is a middle-high school math teacher and a
student himself, Paloma is working on finishing her law degree at the
University of Chile while working and studying English, and Amaru is a
studying history and conquering the city streets. We have all been
laughing constantly about our attempts to speak Chileno and spending
hours discussing the history of the country, the dictatorship and the
current political and social situation with regards to gender, love,
health, education and bikes.
Here is my short version/interpretation of the current socio-political energy here in Santiago. In 2011 - 2012 Student Marches in Santiago against expensive, for-profit education in Chile grew ferociously and succeded to reignite an energy around protest. This energy and organization united many activist groups leading up to the 40th anniversary of the Coup de E´tat in 1973 when Pinochet became dictator. The 40th anniversary was this September and the streets are still fresh with posters, words, images and memories.
The streets of Santiago are also pulsing with bicycle energy. It is not necessarily easy to ride in the city, but many many people are doing it and the movement is strong and growing. Kayla and I were lucky enough to be a part of muevete Santiago where we met the
Macletas, a rad group of female bike activists who work in education, in public policy and in research, all with the goal of making Santiago bikable for all. We´ve also connected up with the
Taller de Serigrafia Instantanea who are print collective doing incredible activist work. More on them in a later post.
We also have met a group of rad bike-loving friends who invited us to join in on a nightime bike adventure to the top of San Cristobal hill. When we got to the top, we watched the city sparkle and pulse below us. O'car, Sara, Tom, Jota, Daniel and more more more have been such a pleasure to hang with.
O'car is also about to spend two years biking around his continent.
In Valpo and Viña del Mar we spent two lovely days climbing the cerros with Amaru and Nicolas. We met Nico through a friend of a friend of Kayla´s friend´s brother, and not only did he graciously welcome us into his home but also took us on a comprehensive street art and chorillana tour of the city. So happy to have met these folks!
Enjoy ze photos.
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| With Jen and Ed, our hosts in San Felipe | Con Jen y Ed, nuestras anfitriones en San Felipe |
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| Lemons in Bellavista | Limones en Bellavista |
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| Flower in Bellavista | Flor en Bellavista |
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| Caroline, Kayla and Paloma drinking mote con huesillo, a Chilean classic | Caro, Kayla y Paolma tomando el tipico mote con huesillo |
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| Nacho, King of the house. He is particularly keen on reading books about feminist theory and social activism. | Nacho, el rey. A el le gusta leer libros del movimiento feminista. |
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| The two of us with Yessica and Paloma, our Chilean sisters | Las dos con nuestras hermanas Chilenas, Paloma y Yessica |
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| Sign of our street | Cartel de la calle |
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| Tom and Sara, brother - sister, bike lovers, fixers and friends. | Tom y Sara, hermanos, amantes y mechanicos de la cleta y amigos. |
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| Sea wolf hang out Valparaiso | Lobos del Mar en Valparaiso |
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| The walls are full of color | Las paredes siempre llenas de color |
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| Kay with Nico on Cerro Florida in Valpo | Kay con Nico en el Cerro Florida en Valpo |
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| Amaru |
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| USE BIKES | USA LA CLETA |
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