Toma la Cachita de Goma

May 31, 2005

In the last four days I've gone to the strangest club that I've everheard of, celebrated Kylie Minogue´s birthday, yelled at a snappycashier, befriended a taxi driver, walked home at 5 A.M. behind a´´neo-Nazi tribe´´ with the most charming man that I have ever met,met a load of australian\german\irish treavelers, eaten the bestempanadas ever, danced to spice girls, sang along to Madonna with ahoard of gay men, been tempted to --and have-- succumbed to eatingseafood in lieu of damned chips aka greasy fries and grilled cheese,seen the most beautiful mountains ever, and wandered aimlessly througha city that can never be described with justice in word or pictures.

So many times I have heard that Santiago is not the typical beauty ofa city that you hope to find while traveling, especially not likeEdinburgh, London, Barcelona, or even New Delhi. It took me whole fourdays to understand. Just when I was losing all hope, I decided totravel up to one of the many famous cerros (hills) that Santiago isknow for. Cerro San Cristobal is the hill right behind the hostel thatheld up the church where the huge statue of la virgen raises her armsto the city. While frantically holding on to the rickety box thatclimbed the side of the hill, I hoped that this ´´near death´´experience was going to be worth it. Sooner than later, I found outthat yes, indeed, it is so much more than that. Stepping onto the sideof the hill was an experience within itself. Just as we made it to thetop, every building, every peak, every cloud hit your eye at once.Every part of the city was brought together in a way that I hopeveryone gets to experience beauty. The gorgeous Andes encompassevery part of the city, it seems, while the ruddy parts and modernparts of the city hit its horizons. And to top it all off, the layerof smog settles in between the sky and the city almost as a blanket sothat you see every part of the city separately. It was amazing to seethe city in its full contrast, and that is exactly what makes Santiagomarvelous.

I didn´t take pictures of it quite yet because I wanted to experienceit for myself, quite selfishly, and capture the true essence of what Iwas seeing, as corny as that may sound. So many times, it seems thattourists take pictures, capture videos of places, but have no ideawhat they are seeing. As they proudly hold out pictures or send themback home, there is nothing majestic to what they experienced. It isjust another tick off their list. Santiago won´t be another tick offmy list.
I really haven´t experienced Santiago in my four days here, really, atall, in the ambience that I´ve set myself up in. I´ve decided thathostels are some kind of waiting ground (for me, anyway) between beinga tourist and a member of this city. An inferno, at its best, really.I haven´t spoken Spanish too many times, except to translate for a fewtravelers or to ask for ¨coca light¨ in the markets. Hopefully, thiswill change once I find a depto (room).
Nathan actually may be helping me with that, and I owe so much to him.I probably won't take his offer to move into the apartment with himand all these exchange students because they all seem to hate thecity, and they're too American with their qualms – it´s dirty, notlike Buenos Aires, too expensive, blah blah blah… Besides, they neverspeak Spanish, it seems. Nathan also met me at a metro stop and helpedme buy my phone. An angel, although a bit cocky about his clothes,where he lives, how many places he's been, and the such. However, Iknow as Devika and Rad are thinking, oooooh, Nathan, I must set them(and you all) straight. Rather a bad choice for a word in a moment,but yes, you've guessed it, he's gay. This works quite to my benefitas the guy he´s seeing, Javier (Dayna, why must I always be charmed out of my wits by gay latin men named Javier?)

There are no words to describe this man. He is a gem, and I knowJavier and I will be amazing friends. He's marvelous. I just cannotexplain it. We get along better than Nathan and he do, most times. Butmore about that later.

I really haven´t been in a rush to see the city because I know I haveso much time, so it is quite strange to stay in a place where everyonewakes up at the crack of dawn to explore. I rise at about noon or oneand travel alone. It is better this way because I hate being labeledas a foreigner or a tourist. Yet, my blasted eyes always get me introuble and I am not deaf to the cries of ´´Miran! Los ojos!´´ Thesame old obnoxious story.

However, this is the city for the couple. Everywhere I've been: thecastle where they filmed part of the Amazing race, San Cristobal, etc.I have never seen more couples. As many Chilean men have tried toexplain to me, Chileans are extremely, uh, ´´amorous.´´ Well, I couldhave never figured that out. I love that about this city. Thetogetherness is almost overwhelming.
That is why I trust so much in Javier in just two days. He took twotourists to Blondie, one of the strangest places to take foreigners.He wasn't ashamed, nor did he think that he would scare us. I live inBellavista, the mainstream party place for everyone on this side ofthe frontera (the imaginary border where most people of either sidenever cross), and we could have stayed there, but no. We headed intothe dodgy end to celebrate Kylie´s birthday. As we took a dark anddeserted bus at 1:00 A.M. near the centro, he explaine how he is a´´piolo -- low-profile (aka low key about his sexuality). Chile is90 percent Catholic, and while Blondie´s was bumpin´, religion comesfirst.

Blondie´s is an old theater that has been renovated into three storiesof magic. People of all ages and all parts of Santiago congregate andparty to music from the 80s and 90s as if they will never live to seetomorrow. As I saw a couple that looked like my mom and dad, Javiertold me that he saw his uncle there last time. Bugger. As we walkedhome at 4:30 in the morning behind a group of punk neo-Nazis, hebecame my own personal tour guide and explained the marvel of thecity, the history, the bullet holes in bank buildings, and theoriginal September 11th.
That is all I can say now as the hostel man needs the computer. I willleave you on that, and hope to hear from you very soon.