La Cultura Nacional – The National Culture

Often it is said that Chile is an amazingly unified country for one that is spread out over such a large distance. Chile itself pans over 4,000 Km (2,500 miles) and roughly covers the length from Canada to Mexico across the United States. Although it is limited in width by the Andes Mountains to the East and the Pacific Ocean to the Wes, it maintains a seemingly well connected national culture and identity which binds Chileans from the North to the South.

Chile has a national Ballet Folklórico, which performs traditional dances (bailes tradicionales) and regional songs (canciones regionales) that reflect a strong cultural and historical perspective. The male and female dancers are arrayed in traditional costumes of the various regions, including Valparaíso. The pride and knowledge that Chileans hold about this national culture was demonstrated greatly to me, in that while visiting with our friends Claudio and Selma we viewed videos of these beautiful dances and wonderful songs. Our hosts sang along with the tunes and kept to the beats, presenting a heartfelt enjoyment along with a displayed national pride.

Often in the US, we struggle with such a display and I believe it is due to the diversity of the US that is so often at the forefront of the national identity. Sure, we have a National Anthem and unifying symbols, like the flag (The Stars and Stripes), the Statue of Liberty and the Washington Monument to name a few, but a national and cultural display seems to be missing.

From my own perspective, if pressed to display something uniquely cultural and American, I might sing out “Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie and Chevrolet” or even worse, if asked to show videos of classic American culture, I might resort to the Original Caddyshack with Chevy Chase, Bill Murray and Rodney Dangerfield or put on a clip of Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock doing the Star Spangled Banner. I am definitely proud to be an American and truly believe that the USA is a great and wonderful county of opportunity and progress. Yet, I am a bit envious of the Chileans ability to articulate and demonstrate their national culture.