Dieciocho

Valle Nevado is the summer home of the U.S. Alpine Women's Ski Team and also the site of the International Racer Alpine Ski Race Academy, a race venue for ski racers from all over the world to hone their skills and stay in condition. There are seven different full-length slopes to train for the Super-G and the giant slalom, and at least five for slalom races. Every morning, while the snow was still hard and fast, different sections of the mountain were closed to recreational skiers and devoted instead to team race training. Racers of all ages could be seen with their coaches working the courses making practice runs.

Back in Language Pucón in August, we met a Swiss ski racer named Heidi Boesch who was studying Spanish before leaving to race at Bariloche, Argentina. We were able to ski with her at our local Villarica volcano area and came to appreciate her beautiful style and speed cruising afuera la pista with us one afternoon. We knew she would be at Valle Nevado for the Dieciocho races to collect qualifying points for joining the Swiss National Team.

So it was really no surprise to hear the name, Heidi Boesch, called out at the plaza award ceremony when the race medals were being handed out for the various age groups competing. Heidi came in first place among the women aged in their mid-thirties. It was a pleasure to be able to congratulate her in person.

Dieciocho (pronounced dee-ay-see-OH-cho) is the Spanish word for eighteen. In Chile, it is also the name of the September 18 national holiday, Fiesta De La Patria, that commemorates Chile's first struggles in 1810 towards winning independence from Spain. On this day, Chileans celebrate with barbeques and dances. The celebration at Valle Nevado was exceptionally representative. On the terrace of the our hotel at over 9,000 feet, we could watch traditional dancers, listen to traditional music and eat barbeque, too.

The first group of dancers were a travelling troupe from Rapa Nui, the tiny Chilean territory in the pacific ocean known on maps as Isla de Pascua or "Easter Island".

But the most traditional independence day dance is the cueca, the Chilean national dance. The band had guitars, an accordian and a vocalist who performed what are, basically, poems set to a dance rhythm.

The steps of the cueca proceed in three distinct parts and have a mathematical precision, much like square dancing in the United States.

We loved the costumes, hats and spurs of the dancers

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At the end of the day we got our skis and luggage and caught our transfer down to our hotel in Santiago.

Dieciocho fever was in full swing in town, too. We ate a special meal of traditional foods and, from the hotel rooftop, watched a parade before city officials with military marches from all the armed services and the winners of a contest for the best cueca dancers.

You can see the handkerchiefs of the cueca dancers spinning in their hands overhead.