Las Fiestas Patrias

Basically Las Fiestas Patrias are a time to be with family, have barbecues, and drink.

On Tuesday, some friends and I headed to the Ramadas de Playa Ancha. Playa Ancha is on the other side of Valparaiso from where I live, and has tried to become an independent city many times. The Ramadas are a great tradition. Basically, they are like a fair or a carnival, but better and cheaper. [Sigrid explained that they are called Ramadas because the booths are covered by branches, or ramas.]


(the field where all the booths were set up... jam-packed with people)


(the booths and the branches)

Most of the focus at the Ramadas seemed to be on eating and drinking. Every place was selling basically the same thing: Empanadas and skewered meat.


(Empandas all over the place... although they were mostly Pino empanadas, which are meat filled :( )


(there were also fried goods like churros, french fries and cheese empanadas... if you know me, you know this was too much temptation...)


(sisters Kettwich chowing down on grilled meats)

Of course, there was also a lot of drinks that were being offered. One of the best things about the Fiestas Patrias are all the traditions that it comes with. Not just the tradition of Ramadas and what you do, but also what you eat and drink. One typical drink is the "Terremoto," which literally means earthquake. It is a sweet wine drink with pineapple ice-crem on top. Like a wine float... kinda.


(Drinking some terremotos...)

There is also the Chicha drink. Again, not exactly sure what it is, but it seems to be another type of sweet wine, but is also very reminiscent of apple cider if apple cider were cold, a little bit stronger, and sweeter. A little too sweet for my taste.


(Chicha!!)

Overall, the Ramadas were A LOT of fun, even though I only went once and they had been open since Friday. Doing these typical Chilean things definitely made me happy that I decided to stay here during our break!