OUR LIBRARY

Our library

I’m of the generation who started with the opening of this university, and in the beginning we had to accept all the problems that a new university had. One of these problems is not have a good library, I thought that when the university grew up the problems with the library would be solved, but the problems continue. We don’t have any book for our major, but the others majors like medicine have a lot of books for them without saying that the teacher have to bring their own books or we have to get it in others universities like the Unap.

The university is worried about having all the things that the medicine department needs, and this is undeniable. They always say that they’re going to bring new books for everybody, but is not true, the only thing that we have is access to a poor virtual library and this is not possible for a university that is applying for accreditation.

The problem brigs as a consequence that the students have to pay for everything that they have to read, because they have to photocopy the book that they need that are brought by their own teacher, and it raises a question… How can I get a book if my teacher doesn’t have it?

Now you can see it is not a simple issue, we always have to go to others universities to get the books that we need or just buy it. It is not possible that all the people that work here don’t worry about it and tell us lies, how the university bought books but they were stolen.

I know this problem is not going to be solved for us, but new generations deserve a good library and all the materials and books that they need for academic development.

Grapes are Great

Nature gives us a wide variety of fruits with many differents flavors, textures, and properties. I like a lot of fruits, but I strongly believe that grapes are “the gift” of nature. They are made of 90% of water, sugars, minerals, innumerable vitamins and fibers. They are one of the most helpful fruits for our health and beauty.

Grapes improve our health. Consumption of grapes activates and improves the operation of the liver and kidneys. It also prevents cancer, thanks to Resveratrol, a component of the purple grape skin. It is thought that this component can avoid the development of carcinogenic cells. The extract of seeds is helpful to avoid breast cancer and reduce cholesterol.

This fruit will also make you look gorgeous, and it can help you to mantain young skin and a beautiful body. If you have problems with wrinkles, you can mash some grapes and apply it on your skin for twenty minutes; your skin will be soft and moisturized. If you didn’t sleep well or you look tired and have bags under the eyes, you boil the leaves of the grapevine and apply this water, when cool, on your eyes. The Romans already knew about grapes’ properties and they invented “The cure of Grapes” which consists of eating only grapes during seven to nine days. It is ideal to detoxify, to lose weight, and to rejuvenate.

The last and the best characteristic of grapes is their awsome taste. You can enjoy the sweetness of the purple grapes or the little bit more acid taste of the green ones.

As you may see grapes are great. I think a lot of you will be fan of them from now on, since they help you to obtain good health and a good body, not to mention their awesome taste.

UrBaN TrIbEs

Have you ever gone downtown or to the mall during an afternoon? Probably the answer be yes, but what do you see? Yes, I knew it! A lot of groups of young people with many differents names that only they know, and the most scientific explanation is that they are Urban tribes. We can hear about it on TV or in a brother/sister conversationor even in the bus. But What do they have to do to belong to this groups? We have at some possible answers and I am suyou would like to know more about that.

Changes affect everybody, but obody realizes that is what happened with this new generation of teenagers. They are changing their physical appearances, doing some incredible things to be accepted in a group like mutilating -piercings, tatoos- some parts of their bodies, but is this sane? Some psychologists have said it's just part of their lives and some day it must be overcome by themselves.

In fact, body mutilation is not the only change that teenagers make , for example they also change their clothes, looking, in some cases, very ridiculous or funny. In some urban tribes the main objective is looking like a woman in a man's case and man in a woman 's case, being interpretated by society like homosexual movements when in some cases that has nothing to do with it.

Moreover, one of the main characteristcs of urban tribes is the music that they listen to. The other day when I was watching TV, I saw how friendships were rejected because of the music they listened to.

That was really freaky for mebut is something that is happening in our society. I know that this kind of tendency or fasion in a few years will disappear. we are asking to ourselves what is happening with our children when we did the same when we were teenagers. As I said before tendancies change with the time, affecting everyone, even us.

Paris in Iquique.

One of the richest women in the whole world is absent from searching for all the magazines. Everybody wonder what happened with this woman But nobody knew about her until now, because in an exclusive article for this newspaper we are going to tell you about the real story of Paris the richest woman in the world who went missing a few months ago.
She was a rich girl, she had everything and was one of the major celebrities of the United State, but something happened in the last weeks because she suddenly disappeared from the magazines and nobody knew about her and her family does not want talk with the journalists about her.
A few days ago a journalist from this newspaper found a mysterious blond girl in downtown asking for money and wearing a lot of clothes, but she was a peculiar girl she was almost crazy and just said a few words in Spanish.
According to her version she came to Iquique because she did not have a happy life before to arrive here. She decided to live here now after learning from her past.
After a discussion with her parents who were tired of her bad behavior, she learned the truth: she was not their biological daughter and they disinherited her after that discussion. She was sad due to all of that and decided to live by herself, far away from that environment. She took the first airplane and finally got here in this small but beautiful city.
Just a few days ago her parents were looking for her but after some days she called them and said that she wanted to live this new experience apart for them. They understood and left her alone. They stopped the searching, but nobody in the whole world knows about her and what happened during this special day.
She actually says that she likes this new life and does not want to go back to her country because here she is happy, although she has to ask for money everyday to feed herself and her new boyfriend who is drunk man. Besides that she said that for first time she has fallen in love and they already have plans to marry and have a lot of children.
A few days after of this meeting she was sent to the psychiatric in the hospital after a fight with her boyfriend in the street. Doctors said that she has a serious mental problem but she refuses to go back to her country because she said that it is better to live here than there.

Eileen Llanes.

Why is Sudoku addictive?.

Do you want to increase your mental ability? That is one of the reason that followers of this mental game have to begin to understand and learn about.
The origin of this mathematical game was in Japan and means “single number” it is similar to the traditional crossword but instead of words it use numbers. Sudoku become famous in Japan in the early 80 but just in 2005 did id begin to appear in the newspaper and from that period on Americans knew about it. The objective of this game is to fill all of the empty grid with the numbers from one to nine, but you can not repeat the numbers in the same square, row (horizontal) or column (vertical), therefore you must to be patient and use logic.
One of the reasons that people begin to play this game it is because is entertaining. This must to be the most important thought when you start with this game, the rest is just logic that you can acquired with time and patience. You do not need to be and expert in and it is for all ages.
It is prove that games like this help you to acquire ability and knowledge because you do not realize that are doing that, it is important too that children use Sudoku to learn numbers and practice mathematics in a fun way. All you need is your brain and concentration.
Sudoku is easy to get and it is simple to understand. You just need to know the numbers from one to nine. You do not need a special ability with math to be an expert in the game. Actually you can increase your abilities solving these kind of games. On the other hand, you can take with it you to any place and can start to play during the day and finish when you want.

This phenomenon now became famous in many countries through the newspaper, magazines, books and internet in the entire world. Many of the followers of different age and cultures become addicted to this mental game Sudoku stimulates your brain and math abilities.

Histories and Myths of Pampas

Histories and myths of the Pampas

There are myths, mysteries, and legends that happen in the north of Chile over the years in its desert ground. There are famous stories that the people of the north know, specially the older people. In Iquique the grandparents tell different stories about strange events that have happened throughout the years.
There is a very special story that the people of the north know the story of a woman named Alis “La Novia,” who lived in a nitrate mine called Humberstone located one and a half hour from Iquique. She was a woman from a good family and she fell in love with a man who worked for her father. In those times it was impossible for a woman of high society to fall in love with a worker, but nothing or nobody could destroy this relationship and they secretly continued their relationship for years, until the day her family discovered this romance.
After many fights the family accepted the relationship and accepted their marriage. But the family doesn’t know that Alis hid a secret, that only her better friend knew. Alis was pregnant. The wedding day arrived and everybody by waited for the bride in the church and her be loved.
When the carriage arrived with Alis at the church, she had a great smile and she looked at her future husband and she crossed the street. But lamentably a vehicle run her over in front of the church. Since then her soul cannot rest and until today she roams the highways of Pampas, causing serious automobile accidents. In front of appears any automobile dressed in her dress of bride full of blood and crying. Her image at night causes fear and an impact on the drivers.
This is one of the typical stories of the north of Chile. Some people say these stories are real and others think the opposite, but the truth is that several accidents in the desert of Iquique have ocurred, and most of the survivors say that one woman with a bridal gown, stops the car and she requests them to please they take her house because she is lost. When she gets into to the car the driver crashes and then she goes away.

Anahy Kuhnow.

Aliens in Iquique!!!

On September 19th there were calls reported to the police station. These calls were unusual because some people told the police they had seen strange objects flying over the coast of Iquique. The police didn’t publish these rare calls because they thought it was a prank. Also, this news didn’t reach the public because people were celebrating September 18th, so they thought some people just had too much to drink. So was it real? Did people see strange objects flying in the sky? Was Iquique visited by these rare beings?

The first sightings of these strange creatures were reported in Mexico. In the ‘50s, an object, like the form of a plate, crashed in a place known as Area 51. Aliens are feared because we do not know anything about them, and also because they do not look like us. They are different in a weird, creepy way. So, did these extraterrestrial beings visit Iquique the night of September 19th? They did and not only flew over the city, but landed.

These flying objects were seen by Juan de la Fuente, an old inhabitant of the city. He has pictures of these beings walking on the beach and a video tape of the UFO flying over Playa Brava beach. So it is true, Iquique was visited by these mysterious beings.

Only a few people had the privilege to see these spaceships up close. They said it was a wonderful experience because it is something that had never happened in Iquique. Now they have a fantastic story to tell to their grandchildren.

So it is real, extraterrestrial beings came and were seen in Iquique. Scientists and investigators came from all over the world and stated this event as a true extraterrestrial case. Now Iquique is officially a city visited by Aliens. So, you have to open your mind, because your home might be their next stop.

Searching for Chupacabras!!!!

Inhabitants from a little town named Camiña, located three hours from Iquique (Chile), are so surprised and spooked because they have found many dead animals and don’t know the cause of death.

During the last few weeks people have known these facts and days pass while land animals and birds continue dying. Different and strange hypotheses have arisen about the cause of death because on all the dead animals, when they have been examined, the specialists have found two little holes on their necks. Supposedly through these holes the predator sucks up all the blood leaving their inner bodies so dry. For that reason farm owners and inhabitants have different hypotheses, but the most renamed hypothesis is about an Alien named “chupacabras” who is the culprit of all the deaths.

This hypothesis emerged because some people say that they have seen an strange animal roaming this town, and one night one of these people saw the “Alien” so close and could see specifically its physical characteristics. The man said that this strange “animal” has big red eyes, a big mouth with two long fangs, four legs which are used to jump to trees and roves. It was a mixture between a big fox and dog but without tail.

In order to halt these deaths a large group of inhabitants go out at night waiting for the predator to catch it, confine it, maybe kill it, finally end the deaths of these innocent animals, and also discover if the inhabitants’ hypotheses are true.

Regretfully so far these people have not been able to catch the strange creature, who still continues killing innocent animals. Even some owners of these animals say that they have offered a big reward for people who catch, hunt, or kill this strange animal, creature, or alien.

Amazing Disappearance of Dragon’s Hill

Iquique, Chile – On the morning of October 4^th, 2007 the city of Iquique woke up without one of its biggest symbols, the amazing Dragon’s Hill. This surprising and inexplicable disappearance has caused great commotion among the community and huge chaos since the entire area has been evacuated and hundreds of families were left without their homes. There is no doubt that this day will forever remain in the mind of every citizen.

Every morning Mrs. Rosa Ramos, who lives at the foot of the Dragon’s Hill, leaves home for her work in Alto Hospicio. But the morning of October 4^th, 2007 was a different morning, “I couldn’t believe it. I thought that I was looking in the wrong direction, but then I realized that it was not there.” These are the words of maybe the first person to witness the event.

The Center of Archeology and Seismology of Mexico was called by Chilean authorities to investigate the strange phenomenon. Until now the possible causes that are being discussed aim at a weakness of the soil that supports the hill due to an underground water formation or possibly by an accumulation of energy because of prior earthquakes that have affected the northern part of Chile. In any case, it is certain that the hill was completely swallowed without leaving any evidence.

The group of specialists arrived at Diego Aracena Airport yesterday at noon and talked to us in an exclusive interview. Dr. Miguel Fuentealba, archeologist, affirms that this event has never occurred before in any other place in the world, “There is no doubt that the Dragon’s Hill has been a central character in the history of the city because it has been in Iquique for more than a hundred years. It’s a place where generations have enjoyed and lived a comfortable life. We will certainly find out what really happened.”

Dr. Guadalupe Ferreira, seismologist, also spoke to us and emphasized the fact that “citizens must be calm because this is an isolated phenomenon possibly caused by a weakness of the subterranean plates in that specific zone. Therefore, it is impossible for the weakness to expand and cause other areas of the city to collapse.”

The city mayor spoke last night and banned the access to the Dragon’s Hill and its surrounding areas until the investigation ends, “The experts will be in Iquique as long as necessary to establish the cause of the event and they will also attend a conference that will take place tomorrow at 10am in the Terrado Suites Hotel to clarify doubts and to explain important aspects related to the investigation process.” Before finishing the interview, the mayor also talked about families who lost their houses and are asking for help, “I am very concerned about the people who lost everything; I promise that there will be a solution for all of them. All I ask them is patience.”

By Rose Marie Kuschel R.

Woman gives birth to three children in public places

I will tell you this story that began in October of 1994 in Rome, Europe. Laura went there because of her work as a chef. One day a guy came into her restaurant only because they wanted to meet the great chef that this restaurant had so when she saw him she fell in love immediately. The next week he came again and asked her if she wanted to go on a date with him. At first she told him that she have a boyfriend but that was not true so the week after she told him yes. I want to tell her story because the most important thing that happened after that date is that now she is married, living in Valparaíso, and she have three children that she want you to know the strange way they came to the world. This is her weird story.
Sofia was born in 2001 in a place called “Molina” near to Curicó, Chile. When Laura knew that she was pregnant the only thing that she thought was: “what am I going to do with a kid?” because she like travel all over the places and her husband is like a little boy too. But as time passed her thoughts changed. She told her husband that they would be parents and he just smiled. As I said before, she likes to travel so they went to the south of Chile with some friends because they wanted to make a video surrounded by nature and the doctor told her that her first baby would born a month later so she decided to go. When Sofia was born she was taking a bath in a lake, she felt a little pain and she thought that the pain that she felt was because she had eaten a lot of chocolate, she decided to get out and she realized that her little baby was coming. Her friends called an ambulance and they waited and waited and the ambulance never get there, her little girl was born there without any doctor or any medicine, just imagine how that was.
Her second child, Felipe, also was born in a place without any doctors, nurses, or medicine, he was born in a helicopter. She was in France because she wanted to see the Eiffel tower, a friend of them who has six helicopters took them and they went there. She doesn’t know what happened to her but her son just was born there and her daughter told her: “Mom why did you have a baby?” she didn’t know what to tell her. She never saw the Eiffel tower because of Felipe.
Then came her third boy, Benjamin, and guess what? He also was born in a strange place. Her husband, Sofia, Felipe, and Laura decided to move to Chile so the place that they chose was Valparaiso. They bought the tickets and took the plane to Santiago de Chile. She was playing with Sofia when she started to feel really strange and she thought, “please Benjamin don’t born here!”. Later the pain went away and nothing happened. They arrived in Santiago and they stayed there for one week because her husband wanted to see the city because he is Australian. Three weeks later they went to Valparaiso and one day they decided to make some pizzas. They went to a supermarket and when she was buying cheese she had her third baby there because the supermarket is located far away from the hospital.
I write her story because I just want you to know how her three babies were born and she doesn’t know were her fourth child is going to born because she is pregnant again. She is 8 months pregnant and next month she has planned a trip to Nicaragua Falls and nobody knows what is going to happen. The only thing that she is sure of is that she is really happy with her family.

Must See Movies

Spiderman 3 (2007)



Director: Sam Raimi
Genre: action/adventure
Cast: Tobey Maguire (Peter Parker/Spiderman), Kirsten Dunst (Mary Jane), James Franco (Harry Osborn/New Globin), Thomas Haden Church (Sandman) and Topher Grace (Venom)

Today I’m gonna talk about some sequels that came out these last couple of weeks. Firstly is Spiderman 3 which was released last May and, as predicted, it became a box office hit. In this third part Tobey Maguire comes back as Peter Parker and Kirsten Dunst as spidy`s beloved. Also James Franco is playing Peter`s friend who now became the new green goblin to revenge his father`s death. But what about the villains? Well, every superhero movie has to have villains otherwise it would be extremely lame. If you think Doc Ock was cool you have seen nothing yet. Now Spiderman has to face not one, not two but three villains: The Goblin, Sandman and Venom.

Spiderman 3 fulfills your expectations, it is not a great movie but it accomplishes its purpose, ergo it entertains you. I must say it was below my expectations but still is the best of the three Spidermanmovies.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

Director: Tim Story
Genre: Action/adventure
Cast: Iaon Gruffudd (Reed Richards/ Mr. Incredible), Jessica Alba (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman), Chris Evans (Johnny Storm/Human Torch), Michael Chiklis (Ben Grimm/The Thing), Julian McMahon (Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom) and Doug Jones (Silver Surfer)

This one was much better than the first one. Better story, better character development, way cooler special effects, awesome villain and of course Jessica Alba. The first movie was alright. Every first movie based on a superhero comic book has to introduce the characters and show how they become superheroes, etc. etc. so they become kind of slow; also the directors see themselves very restricted by the studios and basically do the film the studios want. The first movie for the studio, the next ones for the fans.

Like Spiderman 3, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is very entertaining and very funny. Also they have a kick ass villain like the Silver Surfer who is played by the same dude who played the pan and the pale man in Pan`s Labyrinth.. (A little bit of useless information). If you like these kind of flicks you won`t be disappointed, just sit back and enjoy it.

Here are some other sequels that are coming out:

Ocean`s 13: the first two were really good, definitely a “must see” of this winter.

Live Free or Die Hard: the fourth in the “Die Hard” series, starring Bruce Willis, what you can expect from this? A lot of blood, explosions, and the world wide known phrase: Yippie-kay-ya, motherf***er.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: the fifth out of seven Harry Potter films. Harry finally faces Voldermort.

Other movies you can`t miss are: The Bourne Ultimatum, Rush Hour 3, Evan Almighty, Hostel 2, Mr. Bean`s Holiday, Resident Evil Extinction and my two upcoming favorites, The Simpsons and The Transformers.

Also I must recommend you some TV series like Grey`s Anatomy, Smallville, CSI: Las Vegas, Lost, Prison Break and my personal favorite Heroes. And if you want to have a laugh, watch Two and a Half men, The Office, Scrubs and my personal favorite Seinfeld (reruns on Sony).

I must apologize. i know that this article is a little bit late, sorry. Occupational hazzards.

Welcome To The Jungle

People think that living in Iquique is wonderful and that it is the best city to live in. But let me tell you guys that I think quite differently. You might say I’m crazy, I probably am, but I would much rather live in a big metropolis like Santiago than in Iquique. I’d like to live in Santiago because of the variety of places you can visit and the artistic events in the city, and also because of the many downsides of living inIquque. Next, I`ll explain why living in Iquique sucks and moving to the capital city might be a good choice.

Santiago is a huge city with almost 6 millions inhabitants and it is considered one of the major cultural centers in Latin-American. In Santiago and in its surrounding areas you can find a wide range of places to visit where you can do many kinds of activities. Santiago has many historical and touristic spots such as Balmaceda and Armas square, La Alameda, San Cristobal hill, La Moneda, Cousiño Palace, The Municipal Theater, Central Market, and all the museums. We don`t have to forget Fantasilandia. The best thing we`ve ever had here is the Fisa. Near Santiago you have The Andes if you want to ski, Viña and Valpo if you want to go to the beach and other places really close to Santiago where you can hang out.

Santiago is full of cultural activities and events everywhere you go. There are lots of theaters and plays you can go to, tons movie theaters and flicks to choose from, and thousands of musical performances. This may be one of the main reasons why I like Santiago: the music. The best and famous music performers go to Santiago. For example, last August one of my favorite bands nowadays, The Magic Numbers, played in Santiago. They are not very well known and there wasn`t much publicity about the gig so I found out a few days before and I didn`t have the chance to go. Lily Allen, Coldplay, and Dolores O`riordan (former lead singer of The Cranberries) also performed in Santiago and because we`re so far freaking away I couldn`t go.

Don`t get me wrong, Iquique is a great city but it`s just not for me. It has its good things like the weather, the weather, and the weather, but I feel that I need more than just weather. Iquique is really small and has few places to go, we are isolated from everything, the nearest city is about 500 kilometers away, and, of course, the dirtiness of Iquique is a major issue. We cannot pretend to be a touristic city if we are as dirty as we can possibly be. I might sound kind of harsh but that is because I love my city, but we have to work hard to make it better.

If I got the chance to move to Santiago I wouldn`t think twice and I`d move there right away. There are too many things to do and too many places to go in Santiago that I think I would be busy all year long and I would never get bored. About the weather, I’ll figure something out; I’m sure I can find some cheap coats for the winter and a pair of nice shorts for the summer. As my friend Darwin once said: It`s all about the survival of the fittest.

By Mr. War

Why it is a good idea to live in Iquique

It is normal to hear people talking on the news or on the radio about how dirty and poorly organized Iquique is. I agree that those facts are undeniably true. However, we should also try to keep in mind that Iquique is world renowned and widely visited by thousands of tourists every year. Advantages such as the size of the city, its wonderful climate, and the great variety of places it has are all reasons why I consider Iquique a great place to live.

First of all, the size of the city is a great advantage for any person living in Iquique and for tourists visiting the place for the first time. Iquique is one of the few cities in Chile that allows citizens to move from one place to another in a couple of minutes without having to drive a car or wait for a taxi. In fact, a lot of young people prefer walking or riding a bicycle because in that way they get exercise, save money, and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. This great advantage also makes it possible for families to practice a more communal way of life because they are able to see each other not only during the morning or at night, but also during lunch time which is something unheard of for most families living in big cities.

Moreover, the climate of the city is a great advantage. People visiting Iquique don’t need to worry about what to wear or if they have to bring special clothing because this city is located in the north of Chile, so it never rains and winters are not extremely cold either. In fact, some people love swimming during the winter season because the water is not freezing like in other cities where certain sports such as surfing are only practiced during summer. This excellent weather also allows people to go out on a cold night and meet with friends in outdoor restaurants or pubs simply because the excellent weather conditions allow it.

Having attractive places to visit all day long is certainly another advantage. During the day people may have the chance to walk along Baquedano Street which was recently inaugurated and is full of excellent restaurants and small stores. Other places, such as the Municipal Theater and the Regional Museum are open every day and are frequently visited by tourists interested in knowing more about our culture and history. Going to Zofri is also a good choice. People usually spend a long time buying delicious chocolates, sampling perfumes, or pricing electrical devices which are tax free. At night people can decide whether to go to a restaurant, a pub, or a discotheque to eat delicious food and listen to good music. The Casino is open all day long and is one of the most visited places in our city because it has a great variety of games and a complete bar which offers a huge selection of drinks. Young people also have the chance to decide where to go. “Sala Murano” and “Kamikaze” are the two most important discos in Iquique, widely visited by teenagers who love dancing. Pubs and bars are another great choice especially for those who prefer a more relaxed place.

I understand that living in a clean and organized city is a great benefit. However, having the possibility to live in a manageable city with excellent weather throughout the whole year and with interesting places to visit all day long is much more important than anything else. As a college student, I admire the people who move to a bigger city to study and live, but as years go by I have realized that I am also proud of my decision because I know that I would never have had all these advantages if I had gone to live in another place.

By Rose Marie Kuschel R.

Quillota

SEPTEMBER 18TH IN MY CITY.


Every year, when September arrives it is time to return to my city, Quillota, located in the fifth region of Chile, near to Viña del Mar. People in Iquique ask me why do I leave when September arrives, and the answer is always the same: because September in Quillota is funner than in Iquique. I´m writing this to explain to people the reasons why I always return there. I return to Quillota because of El Eden Park, the games we play in the city, and because my family is there.
First of all Quillota is both a city and a country side where you have every kind of nature that a citizen needs. For example you can go to El Edén Park, a really popular place there. You have to pay to enter and this Park has all the things that a camp site has, for example, it has tables and barbecues, and you go there with some friends or your own family and barbecue while children play, running all over the Park. This Park also has electricity where people can take their own radios and play some Cuecas and start to dance while the barbecue is prepared. Also, you can rent a horse and ride along the park.
The second reason why I return to Quillota is the popular games. You can buy a “Volantin” which is really cheap, it costs about $200 pesos. Children love Volantin, I think is the most popular game in Chile when September arrives. Also in Quillota, but more specifically in Hijuelas, every year they have Rodeos. I love to go there because my mother has to go every year because it is a tradition for her so I always go with her. In the country side of my lovely city people also play antique games like “La Rayuela”, “Trompo”, “Palo encebado”, “Carrera en saco”, etc. Those are games that people used to play there and they have so much fun playing them.
The last and the most important reason why I always return there it is because there is the city where my family and friends live. With them I can go out to “Ramadas” and we can drink popular drinks like “terremoto”, “chicha”, “linterna con 4 pilas”, and “Vino con chirimoya”. Also in “Ramadas” you can eat “Anticuchos”, “Empanadas”, “Pan amasado”, and “Choripan”, etc.
When September ends and I have to go back to Iquique, I remember all the good memories that I had in my city: the barbecues, the Volantin, Cuecas, and all those elements that make me feel happy when I return to Iquique and can explain how it was there. It makes me feel happy and the only thing that I have to do is wait for the next September and return to Quillota for more fun with my family.

The different Styles in Chilean Teens

Nowadays teens in Chile are constructing their personalities through technology, the media and physical appearance to attract the attention of their parents and the rest of the world.
First of all, what happens with the adolescents of our society and their different styles I think the major problem today is at Chilean teens live practically alone due that parents who, have to leave thier homes to go to their jobs and sometimes teens don´t understand why they are living alone all time. For this reason they search for love in things like, movies, cartoons, games and other friends.
I became interested in this topic because, in our society, everyday new styles of clothes, accessories, new hairstyles and tattoos show up and other things. I think that the different styles are sometimes good but in some case they are very special and too extreme. For example, here there are some of the styles adopted in Chile emos, darketos, boys, visual, pokemos, grungucheros, rastas, jipitecas, pandrosos, cholos, Bullyings, comiqueros, gays, punks, flaytes, skin heads, hackers, rude, goticos, and more and more. Surely some styles could be bad or good for the adolescents.
The issue is that some of these styles affect the relationships with their families, friends and other people. Sometimes some young children have bad behavior in school because they think that nobody understands their styles and life, but they don´t look around them and they don´ t think about why people have a bad opinion about their styles. In some cases, like the emos, the groups are very nice and calm and they believe in the love of all that is good. But on other side are the skin heads and they are bad groups of adolescents because they cause damage to innocent people.
The most important aspect of my essay is that people pay attention to why teens are rebels and why they choose, create, and adopt different styles without thinking of the consequence. Who is responsables? The easy access to the techonology, parents, friends, schools.

True Solidarity

We live in a society where a person is more valued for what he or she has than by what that person can give to others. Nowadays it is more important to have material things, to buy high priced objects to make you a better person. Where has the sense of solidarity gone? You can have tons of things but are you really happy like that? Wouldn’t it make you feel better to give a piece of what you have to the ones who need it the most?

Last week, with great pain, I saw the program Contacto. The program told the story of fraud behind the Niño Agredido Corporation. Every month the institution received millions of pesos in donations to supposedly help children who live in extreme poverty. Of course, this money was never given to these poor little children; this money went directly to the pockets of shameless people that saw an easy way to profit.

Years of deception and fraud to kind hearted people finally ended after the investigation of the program Contacto. Why? Is everything allowed to earn easy money? Even to smash children’s dreams. What is going on with the people of this country? Do we only care about anyone else but ourselves?

This kind of shameless thing just makes people not trust anyone and not give their money out of good will to help those in need. On the other side the volunteers that give their time and effort to help these unprofitable institutions feel anger and deception because they cannot do anything to stop it.

The good deeds don’t catch anyone’s attention and what is even worse is that the bad things overshadow the goodness of what some people do. Where is our sense of solidarity? Once in a while everybody needs help from others and not only in the form of money. Ask yourself are you really happy with what you have? Wouldn’t it be better to give away something of what you have and maybe what you don’t really need. Do not stop believing there are still people of kind heart that don’t need to receive anything in return for what they eagerly give to the ones who need it the most.

Claudia Castro

Own Patriotic Week news letter

In the next two weeks we will celebrate another anniversary of own Chilean Independence. many people are so glad because this activity will last for about five days, so people can rest for a long time.

Many families from Arica to Punta Arenas are organizing their weekend celebration, which isn’t unnoticed this year, because the Chilean congress also approved next Monday September 17th as a holiday, so this means that we will have approximately five days to eat, drink and celebrate the anniversary of our independence. On the other hand, Patriotic families celebrate from the 1st day of September. They use to put the chilean flag on the facade of their homes, also they start to listen to Chilean folkloré like “la cueca”, and from the last days of August begin to plan some their celebration: how many pounds of meat they need, how many empanadas they will cook, and how many litres of “chicha” they will need (Chicha: A chilean drink makes with grapes). Within each of these families, there are the little children which begin to play with the “trompo”, “emboque”, and of course, they go fly kites, These games are so fun that adults also join children’s entertaiment.

In addition, among the Chilean people there are the “Fonderos”, who organized everything the whole year in their “Fondas” (Fondas: A stand where people sell chicha, empanadas, and so on) for the Independence Day, They along with their whole family, become zombies because they work all day long without sleeping, They are just worried about selling their foods and giving excellent service to their customers so the customers leave the “fondas” so satisfied with full stomachs and wishing to come back to this nice and fonda.

Many people are so happy for this holiday week because they will rest and will return to their activities with enthusiasm, but I ask myself; can people rest? They must have in mind the following: To organize this celebration takes almost 3 days; some people have to borrow a loan at the bank in order to buy everything they need; these activities give people a little headache; another problem is going to the supermarket the same day of celebration, so this place is crowded with thousands of people and they have to wait more than 1 hour in a line beside the check-out counter, Then, when finally they buy everything and go to the supermarket parking they have another problem, because the parking is full of cars that want to enter and exist, so people have to wait more time and from that moment chileans are angry and start to wir that this holiday week would pass faster.

I think for many people their days of “rest” will be full of a lot of stress, in addittionm some people will go bankrupt this month, But don’t worry about it, because we aren’t the only ones who will be in this situation, all of our country will have these same problems, so relax and enjoy this Independence day.

DISTURBING NOISES

When I say that weekends are meant for resting and sleeping it is because I think that I deserve it, due to my job as a singer. If I want to spend my weekend doing nothing, there is nothing more perturbing than hearing disturbing noises in my resting place, especially if these come from noisy neighbors, nasty vehicles or my charming family.

My neighbors are one in a million. Throughout entire weekends they have noisy parties that last long periods of time. I do not complain about the parties; my complaint is about the loud noises that they produce, because they sing all night long, shout and make lots of noise, not only during the night, but also during the rest of the day.

With respect to the vehicles, and I refer to racing cars, they do not respect the peace of our lives due to the continuous and annoying noises of motors on the street, without mentioning their horns or loud music speakers. Unfortunately, authorities don’t have any plan to control this situation and of course, the problem still persists.

On the other hand is my “glorious” family. Personally I have a noisy family, and this situation makes me crazy, because their annoying noises don´t allow me to rest in an appropriate way due to my job, especially on Sundays. Their routine begins early in the morning, cleaning and singing -things like mothers and wives do- and I do not complain about that; the problem is that I just want to rest a couple of hours more, but the noise is so disturbing that I have to wake up and join the rest.

Well, this is my life, and considering these factors, I think weekends are made not only to rest, but to lie down wherever you want, even though most of the mentioned factors don´t allow you to. Most of these factors, like nasty neighbors, noisy cars and your own family will continue making their own loud and disturbing noise.

Carlos Tarifeño Rojas

Must See Movies: Pan`s Labyrinth

Pan`s labyrinth (2006)

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Genre: Drama / Fantasy

Cast: Ivana Baquero (Ofelia), Sergi López (Capitán Vidal), Maribel Verdú (Mercedes) and Doug Jones (Pan, Pale man).


Before this year`s Oscar ceremony I hadn`t heard anything about Pan`s labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno, actual Spanish title) but when I started to see that during the first half an hour of the show it had already won three golden statues, I said to myself that it had to be one hell of a movie. It took me a long time but finally I managed to get it about 2 month ago and let me tell you guys that the wait was worth it. The movie is a piece of work, a tremendous story and a marvelous cinematography made this movie one of the best of last year.

Pan`s labyrinth amazes you with its brilliant combination and superposition of Franco`s dictatorship in the 40`s and Ofelia`s fantasy world. It is like seeing two movies at once. I must warn you though that it is a quiet raw movie, some scenes can really give you the creeps, like at the beginning of the movie when Captain Vidal violently hits a peasant in the face. But this kind of violence is not unnecessary, it is within context and makes the movie more realistic even when we`re talking about a fantasy genre movie.

One of the greatest achievements of the movie is the portrait of the underworld and its beautiful story about its lost princess. The whole underworld monarchy and the pan story are captivating and they haunt you in ways that you never thought a movie could. The Oscars for make up and wardrobe are well deserved because they make a terrific job with the pan and the pale man (the pale man scene is freakin`awesome).

I honestly don`t know where a man can get such an imagination to pull off a movie like this one. But who is this man? He is the Mexican director and writer Guillermo Del Toro, the same dude who directed El Espinazo Del Diablo, Hellboy and Blade II. He belongs to the same generation of Hispanic directors such as Alfonso Cuarón (Children of man, Y tu mama tambien) and Alejandro González Iñarritu (Babel, 21 grams).

Pan`s labyrinth won`t make you a better person or give you a moral lesson, it`s just a fairy tale about how life is and how we want it to be. It is an incredible sample of how brilliant movies have to be made.

Note: try not to eat when seeing the movie.

Note 2: if you don`t know what a “pan” is, don`t ask me… cause I still can`t figure it out.

Note 3: I don`t know what else I can write here… I’m just trying to complete the one page that is required for the newsletter. Cya.