Chile-Lifestyle
Diplomatic blunders to avoid at all costs

Chileans will rarely be caught indulging in Chile-bashing. They are extremely proud of their country. But they also have an acute sense of humour and say the best way for a foreigner to be viewed as a philistine regarding Chile and Chileans is to commit four major and unforgivable "diplomatic blunders".
The first faux pas would consist in casting doubts on the litterary talents of poet Gabriela Mistral who won the Nobel Prize for litterature in 1945. The government decreed a national day of mourning when she died in 1957 and hundreds of thousands of Chileans attended her funeral.
In the same vein, argue that Pablo Neruda, Chile's other Nobel Prize for litterature and also a member of his country's Communist party and winner of the Stalin Peace Prize in 1953, was more a politician than a poet and you're in trouble.
But your worst possible gaffe comes when asked what you think of the South of the country, where Chileans unanimously agree that everything is beautiful and where they all dream of owning a holiday residence. Don't, by any means, reply that lakes surrounded by towering volcanos are indeed magnificent but that equally beautiful landscapes can be found in Europe.
Three unforgivable blunders. What might be the fourth ? Easy. Concede that Chilean wines are quite good but add that, deep down, you prefer their Argentine counterparts on the other side of the Andes. That will definitely turn you into an unsavoury character, almost an enemy of Chile.

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Chile-Lifestyle
Chileans

It's not easy to talk about the people of a country you love and gently mock their habits.
Peter Mayle dit it successfully in his books on Provence. The French, who dont normally take kindly to criticism from foreigners, were quite amused to read abour their foibles as described with humour by the British writer. Chileans have yet to find their own Peter Mayle. In the meantime, a Chilean journalist has filled the void. "Los Chilenos en su tinto" by Hermogenes Perez de Arce, a former leader writer for the daily El Mercurio, is an excellent introduction to chilean mentality. Perez de Arce has studied the way his countrymen speak, their foibles and their habits. Their exagerated use of diminutives, for instance. They will order a "cafecito" (small coffee) rather than a coffee and insist that it is advisable to be "abrigadito" (well wrapped up) rather than "abrigado" to face cold winter winds. You beg forgiveness when you arrive late at a friend's house saying you're "atrasadito" (a little late) when you were expected an hour or two earlier. To Perez de Arce, the overuse of diminutives testifies to a sense of insecurity among average Chileans. In the same way, Chileans are reluctant to say yes or no. If a Chilean friend says yes, he means maybe. If he says maybe, he means no. An if he says no, he is not Chilean, argues the author.
And what about "gringos" ? Who are they to Chileans ? According to Perez de Arce, they are white people who speak a different language. Do Spaniards enter that category ? To Latin Americans in general, all white-skinned, blue-eyed people coming from other parts of the world are gringos but the word applies essentially to Americans and Canadians. Spaniards, the continent's colonisers, are a special case. So, are foreigners for ever condemned to be no more than gringos ? The answer is NO. For gringo is a state of mind. As Hermogenes Perez de Arce rightly points out, the gringo is methodical and does things in an orderly and calm fashion. Whereas Chileans will tend to do things "a la diabla" (the devil's way) so as to finish quickly in order to rest early with a good glass of wine. All hope is not lost as many around the world are quite eager to give up the gringo mentality. This is probably why so many gringos in North America and Europe flock to Latin America, including Chile, to live a different life.

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