Chilean Holiday Calendar
January
1st January : New Year
20th January : Celebration of San Sebastián in Yumbel
From 15th January to 15th February : Mapuche Musical Exhibition in Villarrica
February
From 19th to 24th February : Celebration of the Virgin (40 hours) in Limache
April
Mid April : Good Friday
May
1st May : Labor day
7th May : Aymaras Celabration Day
21st May : Navy day
June
Around 26th June : Saints Peter and Paul Day
August
15th Août : Assumption Day
September
18th September : Independance Day
October
Around 9th October : Día de la Raza/ Hispanic Day
November
1st November : All Saints’ Day
December
8th December : Pilgrimage of the Virgin de lo Vasquez in Valparaiso
Immaculate Conception
25th December : Christmas
26th December : Fiesta Grande in Andacollo
31th December : Bank closing
Craft industry
Chilean crafit industry is not as well-known as in the neighbouring countries. Nevertheless, you can find lovely craft objects such as :
• Llama wool ponchos
• Silver jewellery made by the craftsmen of San Pedro de Atacama
• Stone sculptures of Toconao, village close to San Pedro de Atacama
• Creations from cave art in the villages of the Atacama Desert
• Pottery such as the ceramics of Quinchamalí, in the Mapuche region, close to Chillán
• Wickerwork
• Superb jewelrys made of lapis lazuli, stone that can only be found in Chile and Afghanistan
• A lot of copper objects
• Mural carpets which are woven on primitive looms.
Recommended reading
According to the popular tradition, Chile is the country of poets with two Nobel prizes for Literature : the famous Pablo Neruda (« Canto General », « I confess that i have lived ») and the poetess Gabriela Mistral (« Despair »).
But we don’t have to forget some other important writers of the Chilean literature :
• Luís Sepúlveda
• Francisco Coloane: « Tierra del fuego », « Cap Horn », « El Guanaco », essential if you go to the South of Chile
• Isabel Allende : « The House of the Spirits », « Eva Luna », « Inès del alma mía »
• Jodorowsky : « Paradise of the Parrots » and his comic books made in collaboration with Moebius.
Music
The Chilean music is very rich and numerous groups are internationally-renowned : Inti Illimani, Quilapayun, Illapu…
From 1960’s, the « nueva canción chilena » (new Chilean song) appears and is full of social demands. Lots of performers had to leave the country during Pinochet’s dictatorship. The greatest representative of the new Chilean song is Violeta Parra. At her peña (musical bar) in Santiago, the greatest troubadours of the country met up such as the famous singer-songwriter Victor Jara who was tortured and killed by the dictatorship because of his texts.
