The capital of Chile is Santiago.
TYPICAL CLOTHING AND CULTURE
Traditional Chilean clothing consists of an elaborately decorated silk or wool chamanto or poncho, a straw hat called a chupalla and a full-skirted, flowered dress for girls. The poncho is unique because it is reversible from dark to light.
THE CLIMATE
Chile has a very unique climate that includes at least seven major climate subtypes. It ranges from dessert in the north, to alpine tundra and glaciers in the east. The north consists of some of the earth's driest places where the temperatures can reach up to 32°C (90°F). Centeral Chile has hot summers and cool, wet winters. The sourthern part of Chile has a more rainy type of climate. It's winters can often reach below 0°C and can be very windy.
THE FLAG
Chile's flag is a red, white and blue banner with a white star. The blue square in the canton region of the flag represents the sky, the white stripe represents the snow of the Andes mountains, and the red symbolizes the blood that was spilled fighting for freedom.
TYPICAL FOOD
Lunch is the biggest meal of the day in Chile. Breakfast and dinner are usually light and simple meals. The typical Chilean lunch is baked chicken and rice. Although, more traditional foods include pastel de choclo, empanadas, cazuela, mote con huesillo, charquicán, and even cocadas cookies.
THE POPULATION
Chile's population is estimated to have grown in 2016 to 18,191,900, which makes it the 62nd most populous country on earth. Chile's population has grown steadily over the past 60 years, rising from only 6 million in 1950 to almost triple that number -- more than 18 million people now call Chile home. Even though Santiago is the largest city, Metropolitan Region has 7.2 million inhabitants. It represents the most populated and most densely populated region in Chile. Some of there ethnic groups include non-indigenous, Mapuche, and Aymara. Some of the indigenous groups include Rapa Nui, Likan Antai, Quechua, Colla, Diaguita, Kawesqar, Yagan or Yamana.
MONEY
The Chilean unit of currency is the peso. One US dollar is equal to 18.75 pesos. For example 500 pesos is equal to 26.661 American dollars. The average wage in Chile is about 540,000 CLP which is little less than 1,000 USD. The economy of Chile is ranked as a high-income economy by the World Bank, and is considered one of South America's most stable nations.
GOVERNMENT
Chile's government is a multiparty representative democracy with a an elected president who serves a four-year term. A representative democracy is like our government. They vote on representatives to pass laws for them. The current president of Chile is Michelle Bachelet.
CHILE'S HISTORY
Chile was originally under the control of the Incas in the north and the nomadic Araucanos in the south. In 1541, a Spaniard, Pedro de Valdivia, founded Santiago. Chile won its independence from Spain in 1818 under Bernardo O'Higgins and an Argentinian, José de San Martin. Later, the Constitution of Chile was approved in 1980, under the military government, a dictator, Augusto Pinochet.
NATIONAL LANGUAGES
Of the 18 million Chileans, about 14 million speak Chilean Spanish as their first language. It is a Spanish dialect which is sometimes difficult for other Spanish speakers to understand. It is very similar to Andalusian Spanish in pronunciation with a lot of local slang. Some less common lauguages include Mapudungun, Quechua, Rapa Nui, and Huilliche.
RELIGION
The most popular religion in Chile is the Catholic Church. About 58% of Chileans are apart of the Catholic Church. The second most popular is the Atheist or Agnostic Church. Finally, third is the Protestant or Evangelical Church.
MAP OF CHILE
Chile is on the coast of South America. The countries Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina surround Chile.
SLANG WORDS
Chile is very know for using lots of slang words, which makes Chilean's very hard to understand. A few of these words include:
1) Cachai = You know?
2) Al tiro = Right away
3) Bacán = Cool/Awesome
4) ¡Sí, po! = Yeah, of course!
5) Buena onda = Good vibe