Events

For two weeks in January, sponsored by the Cámara Chilena del Libro (Chilean Book Chamber), Viña [1]’s Feria del Libro attracts literary figures such as novelist Alberto Fuguet, playwright-novelist Marco Antonio de la Parra, and essayist Pedro Lemebel. Regionally oriented, it includes live readings, interviews, theater and music performances, and children’s shows.

Viña [1]’s single biggest event, though, is February’s Festival Internacional de la Canción, where nearly 100,000 ticketholders crowd the Quinta Vergara [2] to hear Spanish-speaking acts from around the Americas and the Mediterranean, plus some over-the-hill international acts; it fills TV screens throughout the country and the Latin American TV network Univisión broadcasts part of the event overseas.

Since it’s partly a competition, the week’s highlight is the best song award, which usually seems to go to the most pedestrian tune by the dreariest diva or a cheerless crooner, but the regular programming has become more audacious with acts including narcocorrido bands such as Mexico’s Los Tigres del Norte and rockers such as Argentina’s brilliant but erratic Charly García.

During mid-September’s Fiestas Patrias, the Estadio Sausalito [3] is the site of an informal Chilean food festival with folkloric music.