Today's blog is about that time of year when everyone puts down their work, forgets about everything and starts to party. Yes, it's Friday! No, only joking, it's Fiestas Patrias, or Independence Day here in Chile.
Fiestas Patrias celebrates the first Chilean government of 1810 and a departure from Spanish rule. It is a time of great celebration in Chile and has 2 things in abundance. Food and drink of course!
The food mostly stays faithful to tradition, with many enjoying the Chilean meat pasty, or empanada de pino. Of course, there are a lot of barbecues at this time, with many delicious anticuchos, or kebabs to be eaten. However, let us not forget the star of the show. The 'Choripan', a paprika sausage in a roll, filled with 'pebre'. Although pebre varies in it's level of spiciness, the general ingredients are usually the same, tomato, onion, coriander and chili pepper, with maybe a touch of lemon. The most dangerous thing is to not overdose on these little sandwiches from heaven.
Now for the drink. Strangely during this celebration, the usual Chilean drink of Pisco takes a back seat to a couple of special favourites, Chicha and the deadly 'Terremoto' or earthquake.
Chicha is a simple sweet drink made from apples or grapes. It can vary in strength, but on average is similar to a traditional hard cider. However, the heavyweight of the pair is the mighty Terremoto.
The Terremoto is a mixture of Pipeno, a type of crude wine, pineapple ice cream and Fernet (a bitter liquor) or Grenadine (a sweet pomegranate liquor), depending on if you prefer it bitter or sweet. Very easy to drink. In fact, maybe a little too easy. Here it is necessary to share a word of caution. Although these sweet, ice cream filled treats seem quite harmless, they are not called 'Earthquakes' without reason. Many have enjoyed these drinks, only to feel the earth move when it becomes time to leave.
Have a great Fiestas Patrias everyone, but please be careful and
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