Dancing Fools

Last Friday was the all school dance recital/Bicentennial celebration. Berto and the other kinder kids did a reprise of their mapuche indian dance. Meanwhile, I took another step down the path of becoming Chilean; I danced the cueca. For you non-Chileans, the cueca is no less than the national dance of Chile. You go out to a big dance in town and the band's repertoire will include at least one cueca. You go to the Bicentennial celebration at a school and first graders tottle out and dance a cueca. Later on in the dance recital the high schoolers will give a rousing, heel stomping and dress swaying cueca. After the Chilean Congress passed a proclamation commencing Bicentennial activities, some of the deputies dance a cueca on the floor of the congress hall.
All this is to explain how someone with two left feet and a Northern European's sense of rhythm ended up dancing in front of the whole school. When conversation in the Castro teacher's lounge turns to cueca recruitment, you don't turn down the invitation! As you can see from the photos, cueca attire is inspired by traditional Chilean country dress. My dress took the traditional country look back to the prairie. However when you are taller than the average local, your choices are somewhat limited. I was very appreciative that our Chilean family had a seamstress sister with a spare tall cueca dress I could borrow. Good thing all the flowers hid the safety pins Mike used to take in the shoulders 4 inches. I think the frilly apron is very much in keeping with my general disposition, don't you? In the end I was kissed and congratulated by all. I'm not so sure if it was because a) they were pleasantly surprised that I did not trip or fall down during the dance, b) I made everyone else look good c) I'm the first gringo foolish enough to try to keep up with the Chileans doing their national thing or d) people here are just too darn nice to say anything but "Que baila linda" (What a lovely dance)
So, everyday we add to our Spanish vocabulary and now the gringa family is recognized a few more people around town.