Atacama Drama: Waking up in a Telenovela
Telenovelas are Spanish TV dramas. Like TV dramas worldwide, they involve over-reactions, uncomfortable eye contact, and tons of assumptions. One morning, I woke up inside an episode…
Christened by Buenos Aires: Art, Parks, and Malbec
“It’s Buenos Aires! Let’s just grab booze and hang out in the dog park,” I suggest to my date. Welcome to my initiation as a temporary Porteña: a Buenos Aires local.
Drinking Mate in South America: 7 Rules
Rule 1: Don’t say “Thank you,” Juan explains as he pours hot water into a hollowed out gourd. It’s filled to the brim with shredded grey-green leaves. A bent metal straw lounges on the lip. Welcome to the social ceremony of Yerba Mate tea.
From the ground up: Building an adobe home in Punta de Choros, Chile
Near Punta de Choros, Chile, Eduardo is digging a community out of the earth. Most houses don’t require massages during construction, adobe homes are the exception. “Watch out, there are big sand crystals that cut like glass,” he says while … Continued
Ecuador coffee culture: Cafesito, it’s the little things
Ecuador is famous for the coffee beans it exports and its national love of Nabob. Here’s how one “cafesito” converted a coffee snob to enjoy instant grinds.