A little horn-tootage is good for everyone, right? I recently wrote a story that kept me awake, with anxiety, with anticipation, with wondering if I’d said it all right, and who was going to get mad at me about it. I’ll post a link at the end, but bear with me.
I believe in transparency, in being up front, and not pretending to be someone I’m not. Being someone you’re not is tiring, and also confusing. Who was I again? This is the reason why, when I got my second job in publishing, I didn’t wear pantyhose to the interview. I don’t wear pantyhose. Tights in the winter, ok, fine (though I prefer leggings). But simply put, if they wanted someone who would wear pantyhose to the office, they didn’t want me. A few friends were aghast, a few more rolled their eyes, and one asked “did you at least shave your legs?” I had, though luckily there was no skim test to feel how recently.
On being honest, I have to say that I have no idea why Santiago was selected as one of CNN’s top ten cities (and at number three!) , and where they got the idea that this is like some left coast US city. I’ve been to (or lived in) LA, SF, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, and aside from the mountains, I don’t see much similarity. We’re just now getting the very sparsest sprinkling of pop-up restaurants, there’s a very slight movement towards riding fixed-gear bikes with contrasting rims, but it’s all trend-following, not trend-setting. There’s a lovely design happy neighborhood called Barrio Italia, but nearly everything is imported, from the US, from Germany, from China.
It’s not to say that I don’t like living in Santiago, I do. I could easily have moved to any of those other cities (or never left them), and I choose here. But there are parts that are unsatisfactory to me as a person who lives here, and I am committed to not sugarcoating, or lying or obscuring what I view to be the ugly parts. I have not done this kind of exposé on Santiago in one concentrated piece, but here is what I wrote about Valparaíso, warts and all.
Enjoy, share with Valpo lovers and haters. You don’t have to (and may not) like what I say, but know that I will always tell it like I see it. And enjoy the hell out of the media misquotes and mischaracterizations, but not so much the character assassinations (see piece on how to piss off a Chilean).
Thanks for playing along.
When I read that CNN article my first reaction to Santiago’s description was…WHAT?! I’ve only been to SF briefly and not to any other of those “left coast” cities but even so, I don’t buy it. And the picture was of a ski resort, not of the city itself. Ugh.
I loved your piece on Valparaíso. I would never live there either, and I only margainally enjoy visiting. Sorry, Valpo lovers, but I’m a Santiago girl.
Here’s to no sugarcoating!
I think your article about Valparaíso is right on the spot. And that is why that person would chose Valparaíso, because it is a city that is taken from a fairy tale. Valparaíso is a city that is reinventing itself all the time. It has had ups and downs since before Santiago even existed and it will continue to find new ways to surprise you. Yes, Valparaíso might seem poor when compared to Sanhattan and its shiny new buildings. But Valparaíso has a soul and a very unique soul. It is not a city for everybody. You have to be able to enjoy walking up and down the eternal stairways that in many cases lead nowhere, be friend with the dogs that come to say hello when you walk, not be afraid of walking late at night through its multiple dark alleys, eating chorrillanas and navegado and of course being able to sing waltzes and folk song while an old man plays the guitar (which is usually not very well tuned). You have to be able to enjoy the poets meeting at different bars to read their poems, and the storytellers (cuentacuentos) that go from place to place telling stories while you enjoy a cheap wine mixed with fresh fruit. Valparaíso is about enjoying life as it is, not as it could be. That is why so many young people love it, and that is why so many students go there. Valparaíso is a city free of the burden of justifying itself. Maybe one of the things that show more the difference between santiaguinos and porteños is the fact that santiaguinos will not walk a single block to get somewhere, while porteños will happily go up and down three hills for a party. And don’t get me started on playanchinos, because that adds more spice to the mix.
In short, what can I say, I’m just a porteño de corazón. I have lived in both cities and I prefer the poverty and bare bones of Valparaíso than the shiny new buildings of Sanhattan.
“Yo no he sabido nunca de su historia, un dia nací allí sencillamente, el viejo puerto vigiló mi infancia, con rostro de fría indiferencia, por qué no nací pobre y siempre tuve, un miedo inconcebible a la pobreza” (extract from Valparaíso by Gitano Rodriguez)
Carlos, as usual, you’ve written an incredibly comprehensive, generous and positive comment! Thanks very much, and readers, go check out a blog about fitness, and ski races and other things written by this reader, who says in his heart, he’s from Valparaíso, warts and all.
Thanks for commenting, Abby, even though I can’t seem to comment on your blog these days, you know I read it! I don’t know if I could live in Valpo. I don’t think so, but I am easily spooked, and while my idea of safety may be much less safe than other people’s, I still need to feel safe. I am lucky to have the possibility to live somewhere where that is possible for me. I’m happy to visit Valparaíso, but I definitely am wide-eyed most of the time I’m there, outside of the plan, anyway.
Sadly, most of what you read about travel these days needs to be taken with a large pinch of salt (eg, Lonely Planet). Honestly in travel doesn’t sell, I guess. But the bubbly, upbeat tone sounds warning tones for me. Particularly after life in Vietnam which was nothing like what I imagined it to be (and I haven’t lived under a rock all my life).
But if I wanted to live in a city that never fails to dazzle, I’d still be in Sydney. And I’m not. I’m here.
yeah, I agree. Anything that sounds breathy and exclamation pointy doesn’t really do it for me. Because either it’s a lie, or the person has only spent a short amount of time there. I hesitate to write about places I don’t know pretty well, or if I do, I make it clear I’ve only scratched the surface, I hope!