Back in Valpo!

First post for a month, been out of town but now back in Valpo!

entrepreneurialism

George Bush Junior allegedly said that ' the problem with the French is that they don't have a word for entrepreneur' .  Well, I can report with confidence that entrepreneurialism (in this case in the tricycle hiring sense) is well and truly alive in the streets and squares of Valparaiso.

Mapuche hunger strike (huelga de hambre)

After 82 days most Mapuche participants involved in this hunger strike finally put it to an end.  Read more about the reasons for their actions here.

street exchange (chewing the fat)

The future; is it in good hands?

would have been seven short of a century today

Today is the 93rd anniversary of the birth of iconic Chilean folk singer-songwriter Violeta Parra.  In celebration and commemoration of her life, musicians played this evening in Valparaiso's Plaza Anibal Pinto.  In this photograph Natalia Contesse and her band are in the swing of things.

Here is a link to a clip of one of Violeta Parra's most renowned songs 'gracias a la vida' (thanks to life) 

 

taking on the giant

Meet Maik Pap, one of the  extraterrestrial ambassadors of Chilean soft drink company Bilz y Pap.

Thanks to the hard work of Maik and his otherworldly colleagues, Bilz y Pap has made significant inroads into this wedge of the lucrative telluric market. 

expanding cranial circumference

 Street performers in Plazuela San Luis.  Another attraction of the 'Mil Tambores' (1000 drums) festival.

cuerpos pintados (painted bodies)

Today was the showcase day of Valparaiso's Mil Tambores (one thousand drums) festival.

The 'cuerpos pintados' (painted bodies) were a centerpiece.

clean sweep

a place to ....... El Cementerio de Disidentes

View across to 'El Cementerio de Disidentes' (Dissident's cemetery).  This cemetery was created for non-Catholics (primarily Brits and other Europeans) who were not permitted to be sepulchered in other cemeteries in Valparaiso.  

relics conveying a simple message

                                                           Turn off the TV.

                                                           Live your life.

pondering life (on the outside)

If you are a pet lover you may well be content in the streets of Valparaiso as there is certainly no shortage of stray cats and, in even greater numbers, dogs to say hello to in your wanderings.  On the other hand, you may feel yourself sympathising with their plight as many eke out a pretty harsh existence.  Either way,  of canine and feline companions, lack you will not.  I am not sure of this tabby's domicile status, although, given its portliness, it is seemingly not on too bad a wicket. 

black and white and read all over

El Mercurio De Valparaiso is the oldest continuously circulating newspaper not just in Chile but in the Spanish language.  This billboard is between Valparaiso and Viña del Mar.

Saturday at the market

look to the right, look to the left. faces.

It's hard to keep the focus off Valparaiso's stupendously killer street art for too long.

Trying to blend in. Does it work?

                                                          The old.

                
                                                           The new.

respiratory problems?

The proprietor seems okay.  Happily sold me a bottle of oyster sauce.

keep the beat

Percussive tings of metal on gas bottles is a frequent and familiar sound in the neighbourhoods of Valparaiso.

Salud!

Plenty of chicha has been drunk all over Valparaiso and Chile this long weekend in celebration of Chile's 200 years of independence.