The x-pat

So today I got a chance to meet with a friend of a friend from NC who is here in Santiago. I am so thankful for this meeting. The xpat is working on a documentary about the radical youth movement here and is full of amazing knowledge on the subject. I got to learn about a whole other side of this country that I've been wanting to learn about for so long but didn't know how to access it.

As you can imagine, there is a thriving radical youth movement in this country... and it feels so different from the states. I had a similar feeling when I was living in Mexico. There's an explosiveness and radical energy that is absent in the US...at least the US that I'm a part of and see. Images of cultural resistance are part of the landscape, and I mean literally. We visited several universities today that are home to a lot of the radical youth movement. The energy on these campuses is so different to those I've been to in the US. First off, there was a small police presence at a corner nearby... as a reminder, I suppose, of who is in charge... Yet it hardly feels like they are in charge. Walking around the campuses I must've seen at least 30 murals and stencils depicting something of a radical nature. Most of these murals were painted during a student occupation of some sort of that area of the campus. I'm not quite sure exactly what the nature of these occupations were/are... I wish I knew more on that but at the moment I'll leave it at that. The thing that got me the most was the fact that these murals stayed up. I imagined a situation like that happening at UNCG or Guilford and if, IF, the occupation were to happen, and IF it were to happen long enough for a mural to go up, it certainly would not be left up by the institution for the future to see. Unfortunately, it's such a curious thought for me...

There were students milling about on their lunch break. Some, well many, were smooching on the benches and stretches of grass throughout campus. Others, who I got to meet, were selling vegan egg rolls, others were studying and the rest just sitting about talking. But there was something in the air: maybe an uneasyness...? And no wonder, I found out from my friend that quite frequently students set up blockades in front of the police to push the envelope; to remind themselves, the other students, and more importantly the cops that they will not be held under a police occupation, that they will not allow others to be held under an occupation. And then they get tear gassed. I dunno if they are victorious. I'm not sure I fully understand the reasoning... but how could I? I don't understand the political climate of this country that has not even seen a year without Pinochet in its landscape... I don't come from a class of people that is underpriviledged... And I haven't been here for even a month yet. But after today, I have so many questions.

What is the relationship with the non-Mapuche youth with the Mapuche youth? What is the objective of the frequent blockades? Is it effective? What other ways are those objectives being met or complimented? How does the youth movement here compare with the youth movement in Greensboro during the civil rights? When I was listening to my new friend tell the story about middle school, high school and college aged students all uniting about economic justice I couldn't help but think of Dudley and A&T students uniting about civil rights...

It's 2:30 am and I can't go to sleep cuz I'm so curious about all this... I wish all our rad friends and mentors could be here right now to experience this and discuss this stuff with us. It's hard to write it all down clearly and not get side tracked. There's like 5 different ways this could go and I'm stuck at the intersection. Writing is hard!

So I'll just let all you spanish speakers know what we're gonna be up to on Saturday and know that our heart is content with knowledge, experience, food, (gluten !eeck!), wine, challenges, and new friends:

REBELDE Y POPULAR!!!
HAGAMOS DE OCTUBRE UN MES DE HOMENAJE AL PUEBLO POBRE ORGANIZADO, RECORDANDO EN LA ACCION A LOS MEJORES HIJOS DEL PUEBLO, A LUIS ALBERTO "CHAQUITA", A PAINE A MIGUEL ENRIQUEZ, A RAUL Y CECILIA, AL COMANDANTE CHE GUEVARA, Y AL HEROICO PUEBLO MAPUCHE EN SU LUCHA POR AUTONOMIA Y TERRITORIO. LOS INVITAMOS A PARTICIPAR EL DOMINGO 28 DE OCTUBRE DE UNA JORNADA POLITICO - CULTURAL (TODO EL DIA), EN LA POBLACION LA SANTIAGO, ESTA ACTIVIDAD SE DESARROLLARA EN LA CASA UKAMAU, UBICADA EN EL PASAJE 39 Nª 4450 ESQUINA PASAJE 37, DESDE LAS 11:00 HORAS EN ADELANTE. (MICRO I - 16 DESDE EL METRO SAN ALBERTO HURTADO) 11:00 MURALES EN LA POBLACION 14:00 OLLA COMUN (TALLARINATA) 16:00 DOCUMANTAL Y TALLER SOBRE "MOVIMIENTO MAPUCHE" AGRUPACION KILAPAN TRAER ALIMENTOS NO PERECIBLES PARA ENVIAR A LAS COMUNIDADES MAPUCHE EN CONFLICTO. LIBERTAD A LOS PRESOS POLITICOS MAPUCHE... AHORA!!! CONVOCAN: AGRUPACION KILAPAN CASA UKAMAU MURALISTAS LA MATRAKA COLECTIVO POLITICO SOCIAL PUEBLO POBRE ORGANIZADO

Today is a quite a different side of the story, eh?