Tango

On my list of travel adventures is to learn to dance tango in Buenos Aires.  I imagine the elegant couples gliding across smooth wooden dance floors, the band playing well into the night in a dimly lit club down a hidden alleyway in the city center.  Well, Pucon is not exactly Buenos Aires, there are no swanky clubs or live tango bands, but nevertheless I did find tango.  Pucon, while being a small town is big on the arts.  They have a place called La Casa de la Cultura, (house of culture) which offers all sorts of cool classes.  There are dance classes, including tango, folklore, afro, ballet, as well as music, singing and theater classes. These classes are for all age groups and most of them are free.  That being said, I signed us up, but didn’t expect much.  I was pleasantly surprised after our first class as our instructor, Daniel, was awesome.  So, beginning in March, every Monday night at 7, we gathered in the dance studio along with 5 or 6 other couples and learned to dance the Argentine tango.  Starting of course with the basic steps and then moving on to the cicada, caballito, ocho atras, ocho enfrente, we began to pick it up.  About 8 weeks into it, Daniel announced that the town of Pucon was putting on a dance show to celebrate the International Day of Dance.  Our tango class would be performing.  Well, those of you who know me know that I am indeed a showgirl at heart.  Could it really be that I was going to be in a Tango Show in Chile?  This was too much!  Achilles had never been in a dance show before, but was up for the experience.  The next few weeks were full of excitement.  Extra rehearsals and a scramble to find a show worthy outfit!  I had brought dance shoes with me, but nothing glamorous enough for a tango show.  Luckily Monica, one of the other dancers was my size and she hooked me up.

The show was to be held in the gym, to be honest we expected a kind of small town “high school” like performance.  We should have known better. When we arrived the gym had been completely transformed; stage, lighting, decorations, backstage areas.  The stakes had definitely been raised.   By the time the show began the gym was completely full; standing room only.  We waited our turn peeking out to see the performers that went before us.  It was unreal.  The level of dancers was as good as you’d see in any big city.  We were blown away.  How could this little town foster such talent?  Finally it was our turn. Camila, our live tango singer sang, we danced and smiled.  It was dreamy.  We were rewarded with big applause, and extra cheers went up as Achilles danced me off the stage. (He is a bit of a superstar in Pucon).  It was intoxicating!  Elijah had watched the show with our neighbors the Aussies and was the official videographer.  After the show he went home with them and Achilles and I went out with the dancers to continue the tango fun. 

After the show we continued classes each Monday night.  But now we weren’t just dance students, we were part of the “Club de Tango.” When we finally left Pucon it was this lovely group of people that gave us the nicest send off; after our last class they held a party in our honor.  Tango dream come true!  Buenos Aires can’t touch that! 

Easter Island

The Rapa Nui people of Easter Island believe that their Island is the belly button of the world.  They might be right. 

We spent a beautiful seven days on the island getting to know the place.  The Moai, which are the giant statues are immense and impressive.  Try and get 200 folks from your community and carve a gigantic human form (the largest one ever transported was 11 meters long and weighed about 90 tons) out of pure rock and then transport it 10 miles over rough terrain just using ropes, palm tree trunks as rollers and muscle!  By the way, once you get to the final spot you have to somehow stand them back up and then put a giant hat (Pu Kao) on it. 

The Rapa Nui that we met were welcoming and kind.  I had a great time with the owner of a restaurant who was also a musician.  Every night he would play traditional songs with his friends in his restaurant while his wife cooked.  We drank wine, ate good food and laughed a lot.  We’ll tell you all about the trip when we get back. 

However, one story that reiterates how great and welcoming the Chileans are goes like this:  We rented a 4x4 (small Suzuki Jimmy) to go on one of the island circuits.  This particular circuit was roughly ten miles long.  We passed massive caves, Moai, farms and could see the big blue Pacific ocean almost the entire journey.  But at one point the road turned almost impassable.  It was a 45 – 60 degree incline that was severely rutted with loose rocks.  I got out of the car to assess the possibility of making the climb.  Just as I got out, a group of Chilean tourists with two cars (both SUVs) were at the top and the men got out of their car to make the same assessment as me, except they needed to navigate going down.  (In the U.S. due to insurance concerns I would have most likely just turned around.  But since I was on Easter Island, the place farthest away from another inhabited place in the world, I thought let’s make it happen!)  So I talked with the other folks and helped then navigate down the path.  Both SUVs made it down safely with just a little excitement.  Now it was my turn.  Chris got out of the car just in case I rolled and the car burst into flames.  Elijah decided to stay in the back seat and read his book!  So a route was chosen and up I went.  I made it 2/3 of the way up and then the tires started to spin!   I had to go back, or so I thought.  Three of the Chilean men from the group came behind the Jimmy, put rocks underneath my tires and wanted to literally help push the car over the part where I was stuck.  The tires were spinning and mud was everywhere!  I turned the wheel and gunned it and with the help of our friends we made it to the top.  I got out of the car and there were hugs all around!  We then took a group photo to celbrate and capture the moment.  Chile just makes my heart smile.



Massive cave at Ana Kai Tangata




Achilles at Rano Kau



Chris and Elijah with Moai at Rano Raraku



Hole through top of massive cave at Ana Te Pahu



Little Jimmy gets by with a little help from my friends



Group photo after car rescue

Basketball is a Brotherhood by Achilles

If you don’t know, you should.

Basketball is a Brotherhood and a Sisterhood.

I’ve seen it for myself while visiting Pucon.

No translations needed because “The Rock” is a modern day Rosetta Stone.

A wry smile says, “Cut back door!”

Hands up with four fingers on each hand, means “my jumper just tied the score.”

A scowl warns, “Not in my house!”

A wink beckons, “Give me the ball in the post ‘cuz I’m being guarded by a mouse.”

A quick slap on the rump means, “That was a job well done.”

A massive group hug after the buzzer sounds screams, “We are the champions!”

On a warm day in February I walked into the Municipal Gymnasium and saw Jose Antonio teaching a bunch of Chilean kids how to play hoop.  At that moment I knew I was about to meet some more of my brothers and sisters.  I walked right up to him and asked if I could help with some of the drills.  It was obvious from the way he greeted me (a handshake and a hug) that he was a ball player.  He invited me over and we began to teach the kids how to play lightning.  They loved it.  Jose was working as a basketball instructor for kids during their summer break.  They ranged in age from 6 – 17.  For an entire month I helped teach the kids for 3 days a week.  Elijah joined in some of the sessions.  Jose arranged basketball tournaments with some of the surrounding towns like Temuco and Villarica.  Summer break ended at the end of February.  The kids then had to go back to school.  It was a bit sad not to see them 3 times a week.  But I would still see a few here and there around town or at the gym on weekend.  I always gave them a handshake and a hug.

Two nights a week the local men would play pick-up ball.  I immediately had 12 men I could call brothers.  I stood out a little bit not only because of skin color, nationality and height but I also play ball decently enough for a 42 year old guy with a surgically repaired Achilles tendon!  Anyway, we all bonded and I ended up playing on the local team called “Palestino”.  We played on Tuesday night in Villarica and Saturday night in Pucon.  The team has been in existence for over 30 years with members coming and going.  Dads, uncles, cousins and brothers know each other.  Every once and a while a foreigner like myself gets the chance to play ball with them. 

 The last game of the season ended up being quite the affair.  We were to play against the team sponsored by the local casino called “Enjoy”.  The gym was ¾ full at 9pm at night.  The anticipation was so thick you could cut it with an Asado knife (Inside joke).   The game was originally planned for Saturday July 6^th.  However, since I was going to be leaving town on July 1^st they re-scheduled the game to Friday June 28^th!  I was the only foreigner in the league.  Other than myself the league was supposed to be composed of players only from the small town of Pucon.  However, Enjoy recruited players from the two neighboring towns of Temuco and Villarica in order to have a stacked team.  However, everyone figured it was fair since they brought in this crazy looking foreigner from the States!  Most Chilean men are 5’8” and around 200 lbs.  (They have strong legs and thick mid-sections as a rule.)  So I was surprised when I saw the Enjoy players for the first time and saw that they had two cats over 6’2” and one cat a legitimate 6’4”!  I hadn’t seen them before because their game time was always at different hours than our games up until this point and I figured scouting them was just bad form!  It was an enjoyable but fierce game.  Our team ended up winning the game and the championship that night.  They handed out trophies to each team for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place.  They also handed out individual trophies.  I received a trophy for good sportsmanship for my participation in a lot of the functions at the gymnasium (chess, ping-pong, hoop and dance.)  It was a very special moment.  

However, the coolest thing of basketball in Pucon I think is that the women’s basketball scene is just as intense in Pucon as the men’s.  Three of the guys on the team have wives or daughters that play on the Pucon Women’s team.  The Villarica women once scored 100 points in a game!  So on the night of June 28^th the women of Pucon played the women of Villarica for the championship just before the men’s final game.  It was exciting.  The Villarica team won, but after the game there were hugs all around. 

Later that night around 11:30 we had an Asado for winning the Championship!  An Asado is what the Chileans call a BBQ.  It was one of the coolest moments of the entire trip for me.  Way back in the country side at a “Quincho” which is a place where the Chileans make serious BBQ’s we had a feast prepared for Kings and Queens.  One of the ball players on the team grew up a young man who owns a farm.  Their dads grew up with each other.  On this farm he built this magnificent lodge complete with a stuffed Puma growling near the fireplace and a set of Ciervo antlers hanging on the wall.  We had BBQ, salad, wine, mixed drinks and music.  It was a great night.  I got home around 6am.  The ladies basketball team made me a homemade beanie with Chilean flag on it side.   Amazing, right? 

Now I know that I have a group of brothers and sisters in Pucon anytime I return.  They are all welcome to my home in California at anytime. 

If you don’t know, you should.

Basketball is a Brotherhood and a Sisterhood.

I’ve seen it for myself while visiting Pucon.

No translations are needed because “The Rock” is a modern day Rosetta Stone.



Palestino Basketball Team Pucon Champions




With Jose Antonio, B-ball Coach who became a close friend