Chilean Snapshots

  
     
 
A Tour of Chile Past and Present by C. John Holcombe 

Chile is a land of contrasts, from the dry deserts of the north through the pleasant farmlands of the centre to the forested mountains and glaciers of the south. Equally varied are the towns, cities and their people: cosmopolitan Santiago, small farmers and cattle breeders in the Central Valley, the indigenous people of the north and the Araucanian Indians of the south, still agitating of independance. Even more varied have the political experiments: authoritarian central government, libertarian reform, coups, right-wing, socialist and communist administrations, militrary rule and currently a democracy with a free market economy.

All these are reflected in this snapshot tour of the country that draws out the relevance of history and customs in sharp sketches of the present day country. One hundred poems in a free-verse form, introduced by a balanced essay on Chile's history. Free
POEM ONE (Conquistadors)
Theirs was the fortune they made themselves,
fought for in the swamps, forests, terraces, mountains
cities and temples. What did it matter if the Church
admonished or was wary? With a hand in or
not, men died the same. Charles on his distant,
splenetic throne was stunned by the riches, the stories
told of the cities, the plumed warriors, the mountain
Indians who worked on the slopes half lost to air.
Why should he worry what was done for Spain?
He would send his advisers and if they ameliorated
a little the circumstances, the Inca king
should be bloodied the same and wear the yoke
as a ridiculous puppet whose blank eyes stared
at white peaks and selvas, with nowhere to go.
No, their gods were not helping, but indeed were
day by day dropping into golden blocks. It was
just as predicted and the showy procession
to the southlands returned with their thousands dead.
At the legendary treasures men shook their heads,
smiled at the simpletons and sent them on.