An Essay On Chilean Culture

Chile: The country of many customs

Situated along the southwestern coast of South America, Chile has an area of 756,950 sq km (292,260 sq mi). Comparatively, the area occupied by Chile is slightly smaller than twice the size of the state of Montana. Included in the national territory are the Juan Fernández Islands, Easter Island, and other Pacific islands.
A dispute with Argentina over three small islands in the Beagle Channel almost led to war between the two countries in 1978, but papal intervention prevented hostilities. The issue was resolved peacefully by a treaty signed in the Vatican on 29 November 1984 and ratified on 2 May 1985, granting Chile sovereignty over the three islands, giving Argentina rights to waters east of the Strait of Magellan, and dividing the territorial waters south of Cape Horn between the two countries. There is another outstanding boundary problem with Bolivia over its claim for an opening to the sea.
Climatic zones range from the subtropical deserts in the north to the

temperate rain forests of Aisén and the tundras of Magallanes in the extreme south. The cold Humboldt Current, traveling northward from the Antarctic, affects the climate of the coastal regions of central and northern Chile. Generally, however, Chile is divided into three climatic regions.
Chile's geographical isolation also has restricted the immigration of faunal life, so that only a few of the many distinctive Latin American animals are found. Among the larger mammals are the puma or cougar, the llama-like guanaco, the Andean wolf, and the fox-like chilla. In the forest region, several types of marsupials and a small deer, known as the pudu, are found. There are many species of small birds, but most of the larger common Latin American types are absent. Few freshwater fish are native, but North American trout have been successfully introduced into the Andean lakes. Owing to the vicinity of the Humboldt Current, ocean waters abound with fish and other forms of marine life, which in turn support a rich variety of waterfowl, including different penguins.
Roman Catholicism remains the principal religion. According to a 2002 census, about 70% of the population are at least nominally Roman Catholic. About 15% of the population describe themselves as Evangelical, a term which includes most non-Catholic churches, with the exception of Orthodox Churches, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Seventh-Day Adventists, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Other traditional Protestant denominations included Lutheran, Wesleyan, Reformed Evangelical, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Anglican. The Jewish community had about 14,976 members. Islam, Buddhism, and the Baha'i Faith were also represented.
The culture of Chile reflects the relatively homogeneous population as well as the geographic isolation of the country in relation to the rest of South America.

Since colonial times, the Chilean culture has been a mix of Spanish colonial elements with indigenous (mostly Mapuche) culture. The Huasos of Central Chile and their folk music and dance are central to Chilean folk culture. Even though the folk traditions the Central Chile are central to Chilean cultural and national identity, Chile is both geographically and culturally diverse with both the North and the South having their own folk music and dance due to different indigenous peoples and immigrant groups settling there. Additionally, while some regions of Chile have very strong indigenous heritage, such as Araucanía Region, Easter Island, and Arica y Parinacota Region, some regions lacks considerable indigenous communities and a few other regions have noteworthy non-Spanish European immigrant

heritage.