Almost half of all Chileans live in the capital city Santiago.

The population density of Chile is 22 people per square kilometer.

Here is a map of Chile’s population density by city, showing which Chilean cities house the most people:

Here is a population density map based on the 2002 census showing which parts of Chile have the most people:

Birthday Gifts

When someone’s birthday is getting close, we always worry about what gift to buy. Typical gifts include stuffed animals, chocolates, flowers, books, clothing, fragrances, children toys, other accessories, etc..

Singing

We always sing the song “Cumpleaños Feliz” (Happy Birthday) and if the people in attendance are feeling festive, we’ll take the birthday person in the middle of our group and throw them up in the air, often as many times as they are years old.

At the Office

Celebrating birthdays in the office is usually pretty lame and boring. As soon as the candles are blown out and the cake is served, everyone goes back to work as if nothing happened. It is also hard to continue celebrating if the boss is near.

At Home

When celebrating at home, you can organize a surprise party (it could be a costume party). You’ll make a list of typical items used at a birthday party: balloons, streamers, confetti, drinks and most importantly the cake. It must be a good quality cake or else everyone will comment that the cake was only so-so.

Birthday Cake

The most typical birthday cakes are pineapple and black forest cakes. The pineapple cake is made of moist cake, filled with with whipped cream and pineapple and then decorated with pineapple. The black forest is made of moist chocolate cake and stuffed with raspberry jam and cream, then decorated with chocolate chips and cherries. Merengue lúcuma is another popular cake flavor made from the lúcuma fruit grown in Chile.

When the birthday person is blowing out the cake, it is tradition to push the cake towards to person so the candles blacken their face or they get covered in icing.

Birthday Parties

When we want the birthday to last longer, we celebrate with barbecue, karaoke and dancing. In the case of no barbecue, perhaps a cocktail is served.

Children birthdays are the hardest work. First, invite friends with a typical invitation card, then explain to the mother where the party is and check who’s coming to make sure you have all the things and groceries for the party.

On top of this you add the piñata, the surprises, the toy trumpets and anything that is fun for them. To have a spectacular birthday: hire a clown, get inflatable games or have someone disguised as a famous cartoon character to play with children.

How about you? What is your favorite Chilean birthday tradition?

Chile’s Minimum Wage and Ethical Minimum Wage

As of 2009, the minimum wage in Chile is $165,000 Chilean pesos or about $300 US dollars.

This is the minimum amount a worker should earn for full time work where full time work doesn’t exceed 45 hours a week.

What can you actually buy for this much money? Not much. You can compare that minimum wage to the typical cost of products in Chile to see what you could buy.

While the official minimum wage is set by law, there is discussion in Chile about an “ethical minimum wage” that acknowledges how much money someone really needs to live on. Currently this unofficial ethical minimum wage is $250,000 pesos or about $450 US Dollars. The debate raging in Chile about the ethical minimum wage is whether the official wage should just be raised or if the state should subsidize the difference with the working poor.

Chile’s Minimum Wage Compared to Peers

Chile has one of the highest minimum wages in Latin America. The Santiago Times reports:

The Wage Indicator Foundation converts minimum salaries to U.S. dollars and then compares the price of basic goods and services between a given country, Chile, for example, and the United States. Using this formula, the organization concluded that a minimum wage earner in Chile can buy what in the United States would cost US$446.

That puts Chile fourth on the list of Latin American countries with the “highest” minimum wage. The regional leader is Argentina, where minimum salary earners have a relative purchasing power of US$676. Also ahead of Chile are Paraguay (US$592) and Colombia (US$452).

So while Chile has one of the higher minimum wages in Latin America, recent critics have noted that the raise in the wage hasn’t kept pace with inflation and thus the buying power has actually decreased.

Where is Chile’s Copper?

Copper has been mined in northern Chile since before pre-colonial times and before Chile was even a country. The mineral-rich northern territory of Chile was won from Peru and Bolivia in the War of the Pacific in the late 1800’s.

The northern Atacama desert is home to some of the world’s largest copper mines like Chuquicamata. Although northern Chile has the majority of Chile’s copper mines, the large El Teniente mine is found in central Chile, south of Santiago.

Nationalized Chilean Copper

During Chilean president Salvador Allende’s rule, Chile nationalized the nation’s copper mines and formed the National Copper Corporation of Chile (CODELCO).

The state-owned firm CODELCO is the world’s largest copper-producing company, with recorded copper reserves of 200 years. This means that Chile has enough copper to mine for 200 more years.

Economic Impact of Copper

Since Chile’s copper mining is nationalized, the profits and dividends from copper production go to benefit the state.

Due to copper’s dominance as Chile’s primary export, the country’s economy follows a boom-and-bust cycle that varies with the price of copper on the world market.

Recent boom times with high copper prices pulled in large surpluses for the Chilean government. They wisely saved a lot of this money that they are now using to pay for economic stimulus during recessionary times.

Chile’s Free Trade Agreement Partners

Chile has signed free trade agreements with the following countries and blocs:

Australia (2008)

Panama (2008)

China (2006)

Japan (2006)

Republic of Korea (South Korea) (2004)

European Free Trade Association (2004)

United States of America (2003)

European Union (2002)

Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua (2002)

Mexico (1999)

Canada (1997)

In addition to these countries, Chile is expanding its free trade agreements with other trade partners throughout the world.

Benefits of Free Trade Agreements

Chile’s free trade agreements with these countries opens the doors of commerce around the world. This gives Chile growth opportunities and helps continued development of its economy.

The direct impact of the free trade agreement on you, if you live in one of these countries, is probably the availability of more products from Chile at a cheaper price than was available previously. You will probably see Chile’s fruit and agricultural products or benefit from Chile’s copper exports.

Further reading:
Chile’s Congressional National Library (in Spanish)
Wikipedia

If you register to vote in Chile, you are legally obligated to vote. Failure to vote results in fines up to $200 dollars.

Every four years, Chile holds its presidential elections. In order to vote for president, you have to register.

However, unlike some other countries, like the United States, in Chile, if you are registered to vote, you risk hefty fines if you don’t show up at the polls.

This law was created to encourage voting and participation in the country’s electoral process. However, it has disillusioned many Chileans such that they don’t even register to vote.

The Fine

Registered voters who don’t vote in an election will be fined 3 UTM (Unidad Tributaria Mensual), a monetary unit tied to inflation similar to Chile’s Unidad de Fomento. The actual fine amount is determined by the local judge that hears the case. However, a 3 UTM fine can reach upwards of $200 US dollars.

How to Avoid the Fine

There are some caveats that help registered voters escape the fine. You may not have to pay if you are:

• sick
• farther than 200 kilometers from your voting site
• traveling outside of the country
• afflicted with some other grave emergency that keeps you from voting

All of these exceptions have to be documented and proof must be given to the judge.

Election Day is a National Holiday

To help citizens vote, Chile declares election day a national holiday. So aside from the excuses above, you can’t claim that work kept you from voting.

The Chilean government has also moved election day to Sunday in an attempt to maximize voter participation.

What do you think? Does this law fining registered voters that don’t vote encourage or discourage voting?

You have a pretty good chance of seeing parades on September 18th or 19th. The 18th is the anniversary of Chile’s first self-government proclamation. The 19th is Military Day.

Between these two days, you should be able to get your fill of parades and marching.

A typical parade will include students marching, bands, Chilean cowboys (huasos) on horseback, Carabineros (police), and military units.

On the 19th, there are very large military parades that display an impressive look at Chile’s armed forces.

Some sample parades from the Chilean fiestas patrias:

During this week, you’ll find ramadas and fondas appearing throughout the country. Fondas are often found in open, outdoor areas that could be compared to fairgrounds or carnivals set apart for partying during the independence day celebrations.

Ramada literally translates to a tree branch. As you can see in the following picture, temporary structures are made with roofs of tree branches covering a dance floor or tables for eating.

photo by dgtx

The ramadas and fondas are decorated with Chilean flags everywhere: table covers, streamers, banners, etc.

The fondas include refreshment and food stands where you’ll find traditional Chilean foods and the typical staples of the fiestas patrias: antichuchos, empanadas, and chicha.

These areas typically fill up with people during the evenings of the week of September 18th and are an annual tradition.

Fondas in Santiago

You’ll find a great list of fondas in the capital city, Santiago, here.

Fondas Across Chile

If you speak some Spanish, you’ll find some more information about fondas and ramadas across Chile on these pages:

www.granfondadesantiago.cl

Chile.com has a list and another here.

The asado is more that just cooking outside. It is a social event that is a key part of the Chilean culture.

photo by Paralela

Friends and family will gather frequently for asados and it is a great place to socialize.

Part of the social experience is having the grill master, typically a male, tend to the grill while drinking and talking with others. The women of the house are often found inside making salads and other side dishes.

You won’t find gas grills at a typical asado. The preferred method of grilling is over a wood fire and then the resulting coals. The grills range from a simple stand-alone metal grill, to fire pits with large grates placed over them.

So what would you eat at a Chilean barbeque?

photo by Ryan Greenberg

Skewers – the typical anticucho, or shish kabobs include beef pieces intermixed with sausage, vegetables, or other meats cooked on a skewer

Sausage – chorizo (spicy pork sausage) and choripan (chorizo inside marraqueta bread)

Chicken

Steaks

These main meat dishes are often accompanied by Chilean salad (a tomato and onion dish) and bread.

If your asado is during the annual fiestas patrias, you’ll almost always experience the trifecta of chilean food: the anticucho, an empanada de pino (beef), and chicha (an alcoholic drink).

What is your favorite thing to eat at a Chilean barbeque (asado)?

The Central Bank of Chile has announced a new $5,000 pesos bill that will enter circulation on September 24, 2009. This new version will gradually replace the current $5,000 pesos bill over time as current bank notes wear out and are retired.

This new $5,000 pesos bill follows in the footsteps of the $2,000 pesos bill in that it is made of polymer which will prolong the lifespan of the bill up to three or four times the lifespan of the current bills.

The new bill keeps a portrait of Nobel prize winning poet Gabriela Mistral, but there are significant design changes to the bank note.

You can read more about the new $5,000 pesos bill and compare it to the current version here.

The Central bank has said this is the first in a series of redesigns that will overhaul the Chilean pesos to be more secure and user friendly.