It looks like 2014, the Chinese year of the Horse, is off at a gallop for we're already one month into the New Year!

I have lots to report on last year's business, and lots to convey on forthcoming events. But before I get into the nitty-gritty of "save-the-dates" let me tell ya'... I'm writing this newsletter from none other than the magnificent Waikiki strip, in Honolulu, Hawaii! Surprised? Me too. It's the Life of the Broke and Famous.

On the one hand, exactly a year ago, I got dealt a bad hand--an Ellis Act eviction; on the other, I'm sitting in a cabaña at The Royal Hotel overlooking Waikiki Beach.  Lovely.~

Check out the art project here:

Here I am pointing out a detail in Mona Caron's mural of the Victorian house I call home.

One of the best articles I've read on the gentrification controversy (and I've read many) is the one written by Isabeau Doucet:

Al Jazeera Magazine: The Fight for the Soul of San Francisco 

The truth is that without a rent controlled flat I could have never sustained Chile Lindo. Small businesses like mine just barely cover their business costs. Most small business owners are heavily in debt. Fortunately, I'm not. I've even heard of business owners that run payroll on their credit cards, though.  

However, the prospect of losing my home has been all consuming. It's taken so much of my valuable time, time that I could have spent moving my business forward. Many have the misconception that rent control stagnates the economy. It does not. It moves it forward. What stagnates the economy is the rigidity of a system that does not give people a break, but rather hampers your prospects at every opportunity.   

I hired a lawyer to negotiate a buy-out and soon his legal fees were giving me more anxiety than the eviction. A no fault-eviction, mind you. But it's not my story that drives my motor. The stories that get me, are the ones like the 94 year-old women losing her home of 40+ years, the home where she raised her children and now raises her grandchildren, while her son works as a manager at Philz Coffee--these stories are what move me to take a stand. Going through this myself only makes me better equipped to understand the issue. The emotional toll an Ellis Act eviction takes on a person is overwhelming. The way these evictions are being handled is disgraceful--especially that they are targeting the working poor to benefit lawyers, real estate developers, and corporate investors from Wall Street to China. What's new!

When a community gets hit with something as devastating as what Mission district residents are facing, you get to know people's true colors. Overall, I'm a good judge of character, but this sort of thing forces people to take a stand, and then you know who walks the talk! Throughout this process I have met incredible people--people that are willing to break out of their comfort zone. Some who have claimed to be all about "community" have been absent, while others take a position and stand out. The relationships you build when you come together to face adversity forge life long bonds. 

Dennis Maxwell's artistic concept made the front page of the New York Times

Galería de la Raza mural project: conceptualized by Dennis Maxwell and executed in collaboration with muralist Pancho Pescador. Both are Chilean artists and activists living in the Bay Area

With my brother Sebastian in Hawaii

So, why was I in Hawaii? Well, it was completely unexpected. My brother decided to celebrate his birthday in Hawaii (he lived there for five years). A dear friend joined me and she had hotel accommodations through a timeshare, and, I got a great deal on Alaskan Airlines. I promised my staff that these five days in Hawaii would guarantee that I stay in a good mood all year. Voilá! Next thing I know, I'm staying at the Ilikai Hotel enjoying the life of the "Broke and Famous." (The Ilikai Hotel's architecture is classic 1960s. It was the set of the '70s TV show "Hawaii Five-O." Remember that one?).

This is not my first trip to Hawaii. Years back I sailed from San Francisco to Hilo, on the "Big Island", in a very small sailboat... for a very, very long voyage (that story can wait). Hilo is very different from Honolulu. My brother explained as he shrugged his shoulders "Waikiki is the Disneyland of Hawaii." Yet, what I felt upon landing in Hilo, I also felt in Honolulu. These islands are mysterious and there is a dramatic undercurrent that could inspire a Hitchcock thriller. Tall palm trees arch gently,  bending with the wind. In stark contrast the volcanoes that formed these islands seem to be just waiting to roar and thrust the string of luxury boutiques that stud glamorous Waikiki --Chanel, Tiffany, Louis Vuitton...--back to mainland USA.

I can't but imagine what this beautiful island might have looked like before it became a strip of high-rise hotels. Along the boardwalk, I read bits and pieces that touch on the history of Waikiki telling of abundant fish and crab, so bountiful you could catch it with bare hands. Hawaiians are such an interesting mix of people; from opposite ends of the world, they have been rooted in the islands for generations. The Japanese were already there, years before Pearl Harbor. The Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Samoan cultures are present. There's a strong military presence. One block rivals 5th Avenue and another has the flavor of a port. There are vacationers from all over the world. However, you can easily distinguish the locals from the tourists. The locals' heritage originates in different cultures, yet they have one thing in common--they have genuine smiles. The kind of smile Safeway trains their employees to have when they welcome customers, but with them it looks fake. Well, Hawaiians have genuine smiles. During breakfast I commented on this to my waitress and she explained that people in Hawaii are taught, from childhood, to embrace the Spirit of Aloha, that being a philosophical and spiritual approach to life. Aloha has a much deeper meaning than simply a greeting. The spirit of aloha is a mystical teaching that stems from hospitality, to tolerance, to giving without expecting anything in return.

Photo: Yu Inami

Soon to come is Chile Lindo's new, bilingual, website! Yes, bilingual! Working on the site is a new member of the team, Felipe Cerda. Felipe stopped by Chile Lindo one day (while vacationing in San Francisco with his brother) and I told him about my "greater vision" for Chile Lindo. I have had this conversation with many, many Chile Lindo passers-by. Yet, with Felipe, things clicked. Thus, he's a Chile Lindo consultant in Chile.

More on the greater vision for Chile Lindo at a later date, but for now, I'll just say that it's always been my intention to create a network by introducing the culture through the food, and ultimately work towards bridging the two cultures. Food is how all immigrants made their mark in the United States. Remember Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather? ...well, he started with selling olive oil.

Other prospects...  

I'm in conversations with a culinary arts graduate, a Chilean that grew up in the US, that hopefully will take over some of the kitchen operations. New menu items of traditional Chilean food and sweets are in the works--I promise!

My Girl from Empanada in San Francisco blog is on the horizon. Sponsors anyone?

Speaking of sponsors, I have sponsorship opportunities for various upcoming projects. One is an annual concert series that I will begin producing this year, highlighting a Chilean artist in the Bay Area. More on that soon...so please stay tuned. The other is San Francisco Earth Day 2014! I am producing the organic/raw/sustainable SF Earth Day Chef Zone. It's coming up Saturday, April 19th, at United Nations Plaza. Don't miss it. It will be so much fun!   

The year was packed with exciting news from the Chile-California Council. Perhaps the most fabulous undertaking is the marine education and conservation project. What's in the works is an aquarium à la Monterey Bay Aquarium in Chile.

The annual Chile-California Conference 2013 (C 3 2013) was held at Stanford University this year, and as always, it showcased great speakers on varying subjects, from astronomy to energy sustainability. Next year, C 3 2014, is scheduled to be held at U.C. Berkeley. Don't miss it! 

Rolando Ortega, Consul General of Chile in San Francisco

Rolando Ortega, Consul General of Chile in San Francisco, spearheaded a commemorative plaque to honor  

Charles William Whiting Wooster, in Yuba City,  

north of Sacramento.  

Wooster wasn't born there--he was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1780, the grandson of General David Wooster. However, he died at Hock Farm (a historical site), in Sutter County.  

His relevance to Chile is that after fighting for United States independence against the Brits, he headed to South America and became Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Navy, and fought for Chile's independence from Spain.

Sutter County is pure Gold Rush country. The presence of Chileans--miners and businessmen--in the Gold Rush would astound you. This was not the first time I visited the area and I simply love it. The first time I went to cowboy country was for the placing of yet another commemorative plaque, this time in Marysville. Turns out that Marysville, during the Gold Rush, was the third largest city in northern California after San Francisco and Sacramento. Marysville was founded by José Manuel Ramírez, a Chilean. Ramírez made a fortune by hiring Chilean miners at three times their Chilean wages, to venture north to California. Lest we forget that Chile has always been a mining country. Ramírez' home, known as the Ramírez Castle, is a historical site in Marysville and still has its original gaslights. Also, Ramírez was a renowned artist whose paintings hang in museums and private collections.

Kudos to Andy Jeremi and his wife Lizzie Brown-Jeremi for their support in organizing this commemoration. Andy Jeremi has been researching the Chilean presence in northern California for five years for a book he's soon to publish. Stay tuned for the book launch as it will take place at the Ramírez Castle, now home to a seven-generation northern California family, that are simply the loveliest of hosts.

One last thing, the historian in charge of deciding where the plaque would go explained that it would be best to set the plaque on the side of the barn, rather than on the front, as folks get to using these plaques as targets to shoot at. I thought I had misheard what she said, until she showed me what happened to another plaque that honors Hock Farm.

   Hock Farm Est 1841. They don't fool around in Sutter's Hock Farm. See for yourself.

   Them are real bullet holes! 

The Chilean plaque is on the side of the barn to escape getting shot at. More on our friends from Marysville and Sutter County to come... I have to say, the cowgirl came to life in me when I visited Gold Rush country.

Lizzie Brown-Jeremi, Luisa Hansen, Guillermina Cuestas

This year the Centro Chileno Lautaro celebrated its 55th year anniversary (although, in actuality the cultural center has been around 56 years). It was founded the same year as the San Francisco International Film Festival, and it is probably the longest running cultural center of its type, in the country.  

The center was founded in 1957 by a group of prominent Chileans living in the Bay Area. Among the organization's founders was the distinguished poet and Stanford professor at the Department of Spanish and Portuguese--Fernando Alegría. The Centro Chileno Lautaro has had many ups and downs throughout its history, yet it has prevailed and stood the test of time. 

At the ceremony it became clear that the Centro Chileno Lautaro has great potential. Luisa Hansen has been the director of a significant scholarship program since 1992. Lizzie Brown-Jeremi, a force in the community overall, has been a dedicated member since she was a young girl. Her father (QEPD), Mr. Brown as I called him, was also a founding member. Back in my Chile Lindo early days, he and Mr. Esteban Canales, another founder, would visit Chile Lindo and tell me stories while they ate empanadas. They would also light up a cigarettes, oblivious to the anti-smoking laws. I think they really felt at home.      

Today, the acting president is Alexander Don-Doncow. He invites the community to partake in future activities and to get involved. For information e-mail Centro Chileno Lautaro. 

Photo: Timothy Mak © Chile-California Council

Yours truly and Chile Lindo were featured at an exhibition titled "Lands of Opportunities: Chile and California."  

The exhibition, featured at a hall in Santiago's Plaza de Armas metro station, will be up until March 2014.

Thank you Chile California Council for showcasing Chile Lindo.

Remember you heard it here first folks!

Saludos,

Paula Tejeda

Chile Lindo  

 Special thanks to my editor, Sara Powell.