Geography
Chile is a long and narrow South American country. Santiago, its capital city which houses one third of its inhabitants, lies between the Andes and the Chilean Coast Range Mountains. It is nestled in southwestern South America between Peru to the north and Bolivia and Argentina on its eastern side. The Atacama Desert in the north is the driest place on earth. The Andes Mountains barricade the country from Bolivia and Argentina. On its west side is the Pacific Ocean. Chile has a strange shape, 2,650 miles long and on average, only 221 miles wide. The longitude. describes the extreme variations in weather. |
Languages
Chile's ethnic groups include the Mapuche, Aymará, Rapa Nui, Chilean, Quechua, Atacama, and many more. Spanish is the official language. Of the 18 million Chileans, 14 million speak Spanish as a first language. The most popular second language is English. Fluent English speakers consist of 3-5 percent of the population and a majority come from high socioeconomic classes. In the northern part of Chile, about 20,000 people speak Aymará and most of the native population at least understands the ancestral language, Mapudungun. What is an amazing showcase of Chilean cultural homogeneity is that there are hardly any regional dialectal variations throughout the country, although it is long geographically. Middle class Chileans living in Santiago, Valdivia, Punta Arenas, and Antofagasta, while living in vastly different areas of the country, have nearly indistinguishable dialects. This is likely a result of the Santiago based radio and TV that has contributed to the homogenization of dialects. However, the socioeconomic status of an individual can reveal dialects. Chileans have adopted many words from Mapuche and have their own slang, called chilenismos.
Chile's ethnic groups include the Mapuche, Aymará, Rapa Nui, Chilean, Quechua, Atacama, and many more. Spanish is the official language. Of the 18 million Chileans, 14 million speak Spanish as a first language. The most popular second language is English. Fluent English speakers consist of 3-5 percent of the population and a majority come from high socioeconomic classes. In the northern part of Chile, about 20,000 people speak Aymará and most of the native population at least understands the ancestral language, Mapudungun. What is an amazing showcase of Chilean cultural homogeneity is that there are hardly any regional dialectal variations throughout the country, although it is long geographically. Middle class Chileans living in Santiago, Valdivia, Punta Arenas, and Antofagasta, while living in vastly different areas of the country, have nearly indistinguishable dialects. This is likely a result of the Santiago based radio and TV that has contributed to the homogenization of dialects. However, the socioeconomic status of an individual can reveal dialects. Chileans have adopted many words from Mapuche and have their own slang, called chilenismos.
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Government and Economy
Chile's government is now a stable presidential democracy. Before, however, General Augusto Pinochet ruled the country from 1973 until 1990, during which Chileans faced human rights violations and repression. Its citizens' political rights began to expand once the dictatorship fell. Now, the Socialist Party's Michelle Bachelet is Chile's first woman leader. While the country ranks a 1 on the Freedom House rankings, concerns exist with corruption, police, and land disputes with the native Mapuche population.
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Religion
Chile has a majority of Roman Catholic practitioners, representing 73 percent of the population. Around 15 percent of Chileans are Protestant, and 90 percent are Pentecostal church members, but Anglicans and Lutherans also have a presence. In Chile, people respect various religious beliefs and the topic of religion rarely causes any dispute.
Chile is host to many large scale religious celebrations. For example, the Festival of La Tirana, a week-long procession in La Tirana near the Atacama Desert accommodates 250,000 people. Practitioners dance through the village, donning devil masks and colorful costumes. It demonstrates the blending of Christianity with its Andean-indigenous past. To show their devotion to the Virgin Mary, many Chileans will celebrate the Immaculate Conception by making the pilgrimage from Santiago to Santuario de la Virgen de lo Velasque, a shrine 50 miles away, sometimes on their knees.
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Culture
Like many places, the origins of the name, “Chile” is contested. Most think that it comes from the Aymara word "chilli" or “the land where the earth ends.” Chile’s geographic isolation and remoteness, literally living at the end of the world, is, in a sense, part of its national identity. One more way that Chileans distinguish themselves is the pride that they hold in being descended from two outstanding groups of people, the Basques and the Araucanian natives. The Basques are symbols of tenacity and hard work. Chileans also take pleasure in their relation to the formidable Araucanians, who were the only natives able to evade the Spanish conquest for 300 years. |
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Indigenous population
Native Chilean indigenous people make up about 10 percent of the country’s population. The Mapuches in the south are 85 percent of the total indigenous population. Other indigenous groups include Aymara, Quechua, Rapa Nui, and Atacameno. While Chilean traditions glorify the Mapuche in their myth origins, the group unfortunately, remains on the outskirts of society. They are economically and socailly discriminated against.
Tourism
Since the 1950's one of Chile's main sources for income has been tourism. Each year, an average of 2.76 million tourists enter the country. Home to five different UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Rapa Nui National Park, Churches of Chiloe, Valparaiso, Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works, and Swell Mining town. Many international travelers use English as a common language. Many tourist attractions require their docents and workers to speak English. Chile has 36 different National Parks, 10 biosphere reserves, 39 sanctuaries of nature, 12 Ramsar wetlands, and 14 national monuments tourists can visit.
Since the 1950's one of Chile's main sources for income has been tourism. Each year, an average of 2.76 million tourists enter the country. Home to five different UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Rapa Nui National Park, Churches of Chiloe, Valparaiso, Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works, and Swell Mining town. Many international travelers use English as a common language. Many tourist attractions require their docents and workers to speak English. Chile has 36 different National Parks, 10 biosphere reserves, 39 sanctuaries of nature, 12 Ramsar wetlands, and 14 national monuments tourists can visit.
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