Chile: Facts & Stats

CULTURE

Traditions:

As varied as Chile's topography are its people. But what unites them all, from the copper miner in the north to the coastal fisherman from Chilo?, to the office worker in Santiago, to the sheep rancher on Tierra del Fuego, is a strong feeling of patriotism, which reaches its most obvious pinnacle while discussing neighboring countries, or watching the national soccer team play. If, despite all the regional and social differences, there is anything like a Chilean national character, it is characterized by two extremes.

On the one hand, there exists a strong inferiority complex stemming from the isolation, the traditional insignificance of the "country at the end of the world" in international terms, and the poverty and the pessimistic outlook on one's own options. On the other hand, there is their pride in Chile and everything that Chileans have achieved and are achieving despite these adverse conditions, thus nurturing the extreme cult with which the (few) Chilean stars in soccer or tennis, TV or literature are celebrated.

Celebrations:

Chile's Annual Holidays:

• January 1: New Year's Day
  Chile welcomes in the new year with the rest of the world.
• March or April: Easter and Holy Week
  Traditional Christian holidays celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, includes Good Friday and the Saturday following
• May 1: Labor Day or Day of the Worker
  Celebrate economic and social contributions of workers.
• May 21: Navy Day
  Commemorates the great naval battle of Iquique and other naval victories
• June 29: Saint Peter and Saint Paul
  Catholic feast celebrating these saints
• July 16: Fiesta de la Virgin del Carmen:
  Feast celebrated by Catholics
• August 15: Assumption of Mary
  Catholic holiday remembering Mary's passage to heaven
• September 18: Independence Day
  Chile officially proclaimed independence from Spain on February 12, 1818. Nevertheless, Chileans celebrate their independence September 18th with the Fiestas Patrias.
• September 19: Armed Forces Day
  Honors the military and their past victories
• October 12: Columbus Day (Day of the Race)
  Remembers day Columbus arrived in the Americas
• October 31: Reformation Day
  Day of the Evangelical and Protestant Churches
• November 1: All Saints Day
  Catholic holiday celebrating all saints and martyrs
• December 8: Immaculate Conception
  Catholic holiday remembering the virgin Mary
• mid-December: Public Holiday (Presidential Elections)
  During presidential election years, a public holiday is declared for voting to take place.
• December 25: Christmas Day
  Christmas in Chile brings Santa, family time, and fun.

Alcohol:

National drinks:

• Chile is famous for its wine, particularly for the Carmenère grape, which was originally a French crop killed by blight in Europe but protected in this corner of South America by its isolation.
• Pisco (a powerful brandy distilled from grapes after wine pressing). Pisco sour is a potent but very tasty lemon-based cocktail that is popular throughout Chile (although Peru also claims it as its own).
• Grapes are also used to make the sweet brown chicha, imbibed in biblical quantities around the fiestas patrias in September.
• Popular Chilean beer brands include Kuntsman, Cristal and Escudo.
• Cola de mono (literally monkey's tail) is a coffee and chocolate based liqueur, usually associated with Christmas time.

Legal drinking age: You must be 18 to purchase alcohol in Chile.

Sports and Hobbies:

Chile's most popular sport is association football (soccer). Chile has appeared in seven FIFA World Cups which includes hosting the 1962 FIFA World Cup where the national football team finished third. Other results achieved by the national football team include four finals at the Copa América, one silver and two bronze medals at the Pan American Games, a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics and two third places finishes in the FIFA under-17 and under-20 youth tournaments. The main soccer clubs are Colo-Colo, CF Universidad de Chile and CD Universidad Católica. Colo-Colo is the country's most successful club, winning 46 national tournaments and three international championships, including the coveted Copa Libertadores South American club tournament.

Tennis is the country's most successful sport. Its national team won the World Team Cup clay tournament twice in 2003-04, and played the Davis Cup final against Italy in 1976. At the 2004 Summer Olympics the country captured gold and bronze in men's singles and gold in men's doubles. Marcelo Ríos became the first Latin American man to reach the number one spot in the ATP singles rankings in 1998. Anita Lizana won the US Open in 1937, becoming the first women from Latin America to win a grand slam tournament. Luis Ayala was twice a runner-up at the French Open and both Ríos and Fernando González reached the Australian Open men's singles finals.

At the Olympic Games Chile boasts two gold medals (tennis), seven silver medals (athletics, Equestrian, boxing, shooting and tennis) and four bronze medals (tennis, boxing and football). Rodeo is the country's national sport and is practiced in the more rural areas of the country. A sport similar to hockey called chueca was played by the Mapuche people during the Spanish conquest. Skiing and snowboarding are practiced at ski centers located in the Central Andes, while surfing is popular at some coastal towns. Polo is professionally practiced within Chile and in 2008 Chile achieved top prize in the World Polo Championship a tournament where the country has earned both second and third places medals in previous editions. Basketball is a popular sport in which Chile has earned a bronze medal in the first men's FIBA World Championship held in 1950 and winning a second bronze medal when Chile hosted the 1959 FIBA World Championship. Chile hosted the first FIBA World Championship for Women in 1953 finishing the tournament with the silver medal.