asado halloween

I finally made it to an asado, a BBQ, my first in Chile. Considering the popularity of the asado, and the fact that I was in Chile for 18 de septiembre (for independence day) it is remarkable that I never made it to one before. And ridiculous. Nevertheless, I made it, on my first trip into cerro Placeres. It was not incredibly different from a [north]american BBQ, except we ate choripanes with mayonnaise, which are sausage-hotdog things on bread. And potatoes, with mayonnaise. And rice, molded into a... cake. With mayonnaise. Ok so the food and language was different, but the idea was essentially the same. Apparently Chileans are not fans of spicy food; I was the only one who was able to comfortably eat the spicy pebre. I was blown away by the welcome I received, when I knew only one person in the entire group, especially since I did not know the owner of the house, and everyone already knew each other because they were in the same band. It didn't matter, Chilean hospitality still reigned. They wouldn't stop feeding me even though they had no idea who I was.

Oh yeah, it was halloween. It in no way seemed like halloween. I didn't think about it all day until the I got a card from my family in the US, with my rabbit and a pumpkin and transparent ghost. Then I forgot again until the asado, when trick-or-treaters started making their rounds. It was much the same process, but they said "dulce o travesura?" instead and it sounded different, a different tone or inflection or something, but the same idea. Somehow this warm oceanside palmtree environment with a sunset after 8:00 did not seen anything like halloween, and it didn't seem like we should have it here. It is something I missed celebrating, the middle of my favorite time of year full of running and hawks and cold wind and holidays, ending with Christmas as the big finale, but I am here right now celebrating different things, and it is still awesome.

I kind of don't like the idea that Halloween is in Chile at all. It is a gringo holiday celebrated by gringos in gringolandia. But it has caught on in Chile, not as strong, but it's here. I have this sense of my culture spilling over, and I don't like that because I want Chilean culture to be Chilean culture and not [north]american culture. We're in Chile! It seems that younger Chileans like it. Many kids dress up, and my generation hosts parties. It is a fun time. So I have... mixed feelings on Halloween in Chile. I understand if Chileans do not want to celebrate it though. I have talked to many who like it and many who don't. Well, I can't really understand, I am not a Chileans watching a [north]american holiday infiltrate, I am a [north]american who normally celebrates the holiday with gusto, so I can't speak from understanding, only from observation and the knowledge that my point of view will always be a little different.