Aneya & Lauren: La Cueca.

Aneya: So many people! This is the dance floor at the cueca festival, but you really can't tell who's dancing and who's standing around watching. You can spot some of the men in the ponchos and flat hats.
Aneya: For those who found the dancefloor too constricting- there's always outside! People were cueca-ing anywhere they could! These two were especially cute.
Aneya: The band was incredibly loud, but the people seemed to love every song they played.
Aneya: Daniela got her own cueca handkerchief! She's ready to dance!
Aneya: Not a very good shot, but this is an example of one of the many beautiful dresses the women had on. Check out the guy next to her in the hat!
Aneya: Oh my god, these kids were too cute! Check out how intensely he's looking at her!

Lauren: There's this dance here that is considered Chile's national dance called the cueca. It's a traditional dance from the countryside where people wave handkerchiefs in the air and circle each other, replicating the mating dance between a rooster and a hen. Everyone is taught how to cueca in grade school.

Aneya: We saw Daniela's amazing Aunt and Uncle perform the cueca on tango night. It's such a fun dance, the couple eyeing each other seductively as they circle each other, the women waving their white handkerchiefs, the men stomping their feet with pride. It's a dance with attitude, and I like that.

Lauren: We recently went to this bicentennial cueca marathon in a park far away, we had to take the train, but when we got there everyone, everyone, everyone was cueca-ing. The goal was to get to 1,000 cuecas and I thought surely they would not be able to reach that goal. But by the time we got there they had already done 820-something. The other 180 seemed pretty obtainable by that time.

Aneya: The cueca festival was crazy! So many people walking through the park, where artisinal stands had been set up, selling everything from popcorn and chocolate to jewerly, woodwork,jams, books, toys, posters and of course, the traditional white handkerchief. It was a a Sunday and lots of kids and families were making their way through the crowds, eager to see the dancers perform.

Lauren: The songs are short, only lasting about 1-2 minutes each. Usually men wear traditional flat waso hats with a poncho and cowboy boots. Women wear these really fancy dresses with some kind of ruffly something underneath, and the dance usually starts with the "exhibition" where dancers show the audience their partner. When the singing stops, you lock arms with your dance partner to show that you've "chosen" them. Below is a cueca, courtesy of YouTube.

Aneya: I love love love the outfits! I want to wear those dresses everyday! The women all looked beautiful, even the little girls were all dolled up for the occasion, their skirts enormous, their hair in elegant updos. The men were in ponchos and those funny flat hats. It was a sight to see. Afterwards we walked over to the food tent, which consisted of hunks of meat on a stick (enormous hunks, I couldn't even finish all of mine) and a terremoto- a dangerous drink of pineapple ice cream and leftover wine called pipeno. After one of those, I almost started an impromptu cueca dance myself!

-- Aneya & Lauren