Valparaiso: merengue, cuba libres and graffiti.

i woke up this afternoon feeling rather chewed up and spat out after one too many cuba libres (rum & coke) last night in the nightclub. though it was 15.30 in the afternoon i was able to have some breakfast which jorge (the guy who runs the hostel) had left out. i have come to think of hostel "horizonte" more like jorges apartment than a hostel. himself and maria have been excellent hosts. they broaght me and the others out to the bars and clubs every night. sometimes i think it must be the ultimate job to run a hostel, getting to meet people and go out all of the time. though it does require energy and a love of dancing. the chileans have no shortage of that.

maria, jorge and anna

i want to embrace the dancing thing with the same fearlesness as i have done with the language but as with language learning the first hurdle of forming a simple sequence is the hardest part.
the club we went to played song after song of chilean music to which the crowd seemed to know all of the words. just on hearing the first note of the song, everybody in the club would scream with joy whilst me and anyone non chilean would just look around to try to wait for a sign of what kind of music was about to play. interestingly many songs have a special dance routine, sometimes the dancelfoor wold form a kind of dance unit where everbody would step to one side, then to the front , then to the other side and so on.. similar to line dancing i suppose. i have to confess to standing on the sideline on occasion and sipping a cuba libre during some of those songs, waiting for the next merengue or salsa tune so i could go out and try to work on my novice steps. sigh! it will come together sometime.



merengue dancing. this involves lots of twists and turns like salsa, however the footsteps are (one,two,one two) like walking. its both funny and very beautiful to look at. merengue music is kind of like salsa but with a fast techno beat.

this video i found demonstrates it pretty well
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merengue dance


amd heres an example of the music
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merengue mix



group dance routine to some song



everyone going nuts to some chilean ska music at around 5am.
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in my hungover state i finally summoned up the common sense to leave the hostel and take a final walk around valparaiso. i felt the intense heat of the sun as soon as i opened the door. sunny weather makes a hangover a little easier i think. i took a stroll around and photographed some more of the incredible graffiti and other sights around the town before hopping on a bus at 22.15 back to santiago.

one of many street performances for the february festival in valparaiso.