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29708: Morse (comment) RAM goes to Chile
_oloffsonram@aol.com_ (mailto:oloffsonram@aol.com)
RAM was recently invited by Chile's Ambassador to Haiti to spend 10 days in
Chile's capital city of Santiago. We did 7 presentations at a festival
(Expomundo) which highlighted rural production in Chile. It was a wonderful
trip.
We met Madame President (Chile has a woman president) on the second day of the
festival. We also met people from the Mapuches Tribe, which is one of the
indigenous tribes of Chile. I heard rhythms that sounded like they came
directly
from Gonaives. I saw "nats" (sleeping pads made from banana leaves found
also here in Haiti) and we ate the Mapuches version of "pate chaudier", a
Haitian street food, usually breakfast. It was interesting to find bits of
Haitian
culture which were evidently adapted from Indian culture here in Haiti. I
had known that Brazil, because of it's African roots had strong ties to
Haitian
culture, but meeting the Indians of Chile re-affirmed how complex the roots
of Haitian culture are.
Pinochet passed away during our trip. A couple of my guys got tear gassed
watching the demonstrations on the street. Met the Haitian ambassador to
Chile,
met Haitian medical students who had transferred from the Dominican
Republic. They said they were treated better and were more respected than they
had
been in the DR. Ate in a Haitian vegetarian restaurant (Cordon Verte): sauce
pois, banane peze, zaboca, du riz kole, mais moulin. Ate the Chilean version
of
Cerviche which is raw fish soaked in lemon juice (the lemon juice actually
cooks the fish). Delicious. No visa necessary for Haitians to go to Chile. We
went by way of Panama on a flight full of Madame Sarahs. Lovely trip.
Recommended to all.