Culture and Arts in Chile
Browse a comprehensive guide to Chilean culture and the arts in Santiago and throughout Chile. The articles below provide an excellent starting point to launching your exploration of Chilean culture
Art & Literature
Chile's most famous contributions to literature have come from Nobel Prize poets Pablo Neruda and Gabriela Mistral, whose homes and birthplaces are now museums that attract literary pilgrims to Chile. Neruda's Heights of Machu Picchu, Canto General and the autobiographical Memoirs are widely available in English, however Mistral's works are harder to find. Delve into Chilean Art & Literature...
Music
Chilean music, particularly folk music, has had international acclaim since the 1960s, when Violeta Parra and her children Angel and Isabel made their names as politically committed singers and songwriters. During the 1970's and later as exiles, folk groups like Quilapayśn and Inti Illimani regularly toured Europe and North America before returning to Violeta Parra.Learn More about Chilean Music...
Festivals
The most important festival in the Norte Grande region takes place in the small town of La Tirana. Each year, from the 12th through the 18th of July, some 40.000 believers arrive to celebrate the Virgin of Carmel, Chile's patron saint. Activities include songs and dances that seem to go on 24 hours a day for the whole week of ceremonies. Check out Chile's Most Famous Festival...
Dance
The cueca is the national dance. It originates from peasant folklore and some sources believe that it emerged as a symbol of the newborn republic in rebellion against the Spanish crown. The steps represent the cock stalking the hen, the amorous courting of a couple, or the cornering of a filly by a huaso (Chilean cowboy), which he is trying to lasso. Man and woman dance to the classic rhythm, twirling their kerchiefs in the air. Learn More about Dance in Chile...
Traditions
Today, when modernization has become the cornerstone of the Chilean economy, some traditional customs still endure, particularly in the countryside. One of them, the trilla a yegua, involves using horses to help separate wheat from the chaff. In another, the rodeo, huasos on horseback rope and bring down calves in a crescent-shaped barricade, la medialuna. The island of Chiloé, meanwhile, is Chile's land of myths, and tradition. Discover the Traditional Culture of Chile...
People
Chile's population of 14 million is relatively young. Nearly half the population is under 25 years of age and 72 percent is under 40. Women have an average of 2.4 children. Despite the country's length, most of the population is concentrated in the southern and central regions - Santiago alone accounting for 5.5 million. Chile as a whole has practically eliminated illiteracy, and the average school attendance level has doubled in the last two decades. In June 1996, President Eduardo Frei mandated an increase of classroom hours to benefit students and bring new vigor to the educational enterprise, or at least that is the hope. Learn about the Chilean Peoples...
Origins
Spanish Conquistadors When the Spaniards arrived in the 16th century, the land known today as Chile was inhabited by various indigenous societies. Estimates suggest that the indigenous population exceeded a million, sprinkled irregularly from north to south. The Mapuche ("Men of the Earth"), inhabited the central and southern regions. The most outstanding of the Mapuche peoples were the Araucanians, renowned for their long-standing resistance to both the Spaniards and, subsequently, to the Chileans.The so-called "Pacification of Araucania" was achieved only in the second half of the 19th century. Discover Chile's Origins...
Politics
Chile has a presidential system of government. The Executive Power exercised by the President of the Republic is elected by direct popular vote, and the President is supported by 21 cabinet ministers. Eduardo Frei Tagle was elected President by an absolute majority (58 percent) on December 11, 1993. Learn about the Politics of Chile...
