Earth Day San Francisco 2014

You may recall that this year I joined the production team of Earth Day. Well, don't be surprised if I end up an activist, living in Chile, working on nothing but environmental issues.

Since I started attending seminars on the Chilean economic boom and its foreign investment potential 20 years ago, I've been asking why isn't eco-tourism part of the economic growth equation? Is it an oversight?
Or is it that eco-tourism requires environmental laws that target the industrial complex already set in motion and creating ecological havoc in Chile?

Dear leaders: may I introduce you to the most important word today in order to keep ourselves from self-extinction: sustainability.
Chile takes a flying leap towards the 21st century; cabinet overturns the dam project, HidroAysén, in Patagonia.

Douglas Tompkins, entrepreneur from Sausalito, CA, and sportswear pioneer founder of Esprit, sold his company and invested in Chile. He bought such a large piece of land that he nearly cut Chile in half (it's a very thin country, but still). His purpose: to turn his property into a national park and preserve its ecosystem. Tompkins is a very controversial figure in Chile because at first, no one believed that his mega investment was strictly a conservationist's dream. I've had plenty an argument with Chileans explaining that a California hiking devotee would do just that, and since he had the money and the contacts to support his vision, that's just what he's doing. In fact, his wife Kris Tompkins is CEO of Patagonia. The husband and wife team own Parque Pumalí­n, which, once its operations are set in place, will be donated to Chile as a national park.

Tompkins and his team lead the popular campaign ! Patagonia Sin Represas ! to stop HidroAysén--to date one of the most invasive dam enterprises planned in Patagonia. Can you blame him? His lifelong work was under the threat of being seriously impacted by the dam as well as 1,200 miles of towers and power cables that would've forever scarred southern Chile. Protests, from the New York Times to the people of Chile taking to the streets, halted this travesty.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014-- HidroAysén was unanimously overturned by the Chilean Cabinet of Ministers.

Whew! That was a very close one!

Victory news on front page of website: Internationals River's Network

Check out Conservación Patagónica

Copihue, Chile's national flower. Photo credit: Francisco Campos-Lopez

STOP

Dam Project on Chile's Rio Ñuble,

A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, 2011 

 

Francisco Campos-Lopez is a Chilean film director and screenwriter, whose work I first encountered through Facebook. After admiring what he does, and exchanging some ideas and contacts over the web, we finally set up a time to Skype.

           

We had a long conversation, as Campos-Lopez is directing his film career, in part, toward environmental documentaries. As you know, nothing makes me more upset than the destruction of Chile's ecosystems in the name of progress: shopping malls, highrise hotels, industrial farming, and dams. Sincerely, I couldn't think of a more critical issue facing us than the alarming threat to the delicate, natural balance of our beautiful planet.

 

 

One of Campos-Lopez' upcoming projects is establishing a non-profit/foundation/community website called #RealChile. The idea behind his vision is to have a platform that focuses on the environmental issues threatening one of the most pristine places left on Earth-southern Chile. The first film and website will debut worldwide in July.

 

#RealChile intends to present sustainable alternatives to impending projects that threaten Chile's environment. #RealChile does not want to simply criticize without suggesting viable alternatives to controversial issues. For this reason, Campos-Lopez is building strong relationships with local researchers and investigators.

 

 

 

 

 

One of Campos-Lopez' documentaries focuses on a valley presently under the threat of yet another invasive hydro-electric dam project called "Embalse Punilla". It's more or less a micro scale HidroAysén, but instead of affecting the Baker River and it's surreal scenery in the heart of Patagonia, this dam completely destroys the beauty of the Ñuble River. The "Punilla" dam would dislocate over 130 families living in perfect harmony with nature in this valley for generations. One of the most problematic facts about this project is that it is located in the Nevados de Chillan-Laguna El Laja, granted a "Biosphere Reserve Area" special distinction by UNESCO and sponsored by the Chilean government, in 2011. Now it's under the threat of a dam!  

Campos-Lopez is working against the clock hoping to redirect this dam project, that unfortunately has the blessings of President Bachelet's administration. Campos-Lopez has researched extensively the environmental impact of this proposed dam, and he's made some headway with local authorities, by suggesting solutions that lessen its environmental impact. Campos-Lopez is looking for sponsors to finance his work, and for opportunities to show his documentaries in the San Francisco Bay area. No doubt the Bay area is a great platform to highlight his work and influence the powers that be in Chile, to not repeat the environmental calamities experienced in the United States in the name of "progress." If there is one thing that we can learn from the Chile-California collaborations, it is to create a sustainable society in Chile.

Lack of vision in protecting Chile's natural habitat is equivalent to matar la gallina de los huevos de oro--killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

 

 

This beautiful valley (approximately 4,200 acres) is at the crux of the Ñuble River (the large river) and the Los Sauces River (to the right). In order to build the Embalse Punilla, the dam, first 130 families would be displaced, followed by clear-cutting a vast area (3,700 acres) of native forests. This valley is a micro-economic and agricultural haven of organic farming and goat raising for goat milk and cheese. The area enjoys small-scale tourism at a handful of campgrounds.

The proponents of this dam are highlighting how the dam will be a tourist attraction to enjoy water sports. I'd like to know what tourists they are talking about, because I can assure you that most of the tourists that stop by Chile Lindo on their way to Chile, would be devastated to see a dam replace this enchanting valley!

Good luck Francisco in getting the word out and stopping this calamity!

The website promoting Embalse Punilla speaks for itself.

Leila Salazar-Lopez and neighbors  at press conference

On December 9, 2013 my friends Ariel and Leila, their two little girls, and Monica (Leila's sister) found out that their building was being Ellised. Ariel is a videographer, Leila is the program director at Amazon Watch, and Monica is the co-founder of Electronic Music Alliance. But get this! This developer wasn't just blasting one archetypal San Francisco home, no siree. His intention was to displace the entire building--ten units! When you consider that each of those flats houses extended family members (aunts and grandparents), low-wage workers, students, and artists, you could very well say that an entire ecosystem was going to be sacrificed. For what? For the $imple $ake of $peculation.

San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi and his wife Eliana Lopez joined the community celebration

The tenants organized. No one cashed the buy-out checks. The eviction was rescinded.

Leila called a press conference followed by a backyard BBQ for neighbors, friends, and supporters. San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi stopped by with his wife Eliana and his son. Needless to say, spirits were high.

MissionLoc@l.org covered the event and you can see an interview with yours truly here.

Major kudos to Steve Collier, staff attorney at the Tenderloin Housing Clinic

MissionLoc@l.org
Tenants Celebrate Victory to Stay in Their Homes

During the '80s Rock Latino made it's mark in Mexico, Argentina, and... Chile wasn't far behind. The New Wave band Los Prisioneros hit a nerve with an entire generation. Their lyrics challenged the status quo and made a statement--social critique--while Chile was still under a military regime. The group is no longer a band, however, Jorge González, continues performing, and will be playing a live concert at Yoshi's. González was the lead singer, songwriter, and composer.

This upcoming concert, produced by MGD Productions, will highlight Jorge González's major hits! David Emil, Guillermo Barrenechea, and Martín Barrenechea, make up the dynamic team of MGD Productions.

Yoshi's
Wednesday, June 18 @ 6:00 PM

 Buy Tickets Here

Salsa lovers! The dynamic producer and powerhouse of Urban Music Presents, Stephanie Dalton, is launching Sabor Sundays!

 

Michael Parsons Photo credit: Patricia Mark

Chamber Music for the People

Wednesday, June 18th l 5:00 - 7:00 PM
w/Dr. Mauricio Ulloa (vet-in-residence from Viña del Mar)
Sausalito, CA

Friday, June 20th l 6:30 PM
Gabrielson Park, Sausalito
(Sponsored by Sister City Program)

Saturday, June 21st l 6:30 PM
Martín Etcheverry & Ezequiel Etcheverry
Argentinian Fusion Guitar Concert
The Pines Mansion
33 Miller Avenue, Sausalito, CA
Martini, Margarita, Wine & Beer Bar
Tickets:
brownpapertickets/Argentinian Guitar Concert

1880 stained glass skylight from Argentina

 check out Facebook photos

The wonderful world of the web is a platform for aspiring script writers, directors, and actors. However, no matter how low budget this medium may seem, just like anything else, making your mark is not easy. Well, Cristóbal Ross, the writer, director, and producer of Gringolandia is getting quite a bit of attention from some pretty surprising sources.

Here's an LA Weekly Blog review of Gringolandia. Let me just say that the characters in this web series are very well developed, and the usual suspects, stereotypes and cultural misconceptions, spice up the script. It's an old story. Guy follows girl to New York City. Girl's father disapproves of the guy. Guy wants to make it big--like so many before him that left their cozy homes, enticed by the American Dream. Guy chooses traditional food to make his mark (completos not empanadas!). American Dream is closer to a nightmare. How many immigrants from around the world followed in these very same footsteps?

What makes Gringolandia good is the quality of the production. It's tight! There are a lot of areas to cover and get right for such a low budget production.

Cristóbal Ross is in New York preparing for the second season. Did you know that there are awards festivals for web series? Well, Gringolandia is nominated for the Austin Webfest, taking place June 26-28, and the Baja Webfest in Tijuana, taking place June 27-29. ¡ Suerte guys !

Last March, the first season of Gringolandia received the "Outstanding Supporting Actor" award at the LAWEBFEST 2014. The honor went to Armen Mazlumian, who plays the not-so-thrilled father of the girl friend. Peter, the main character, is played by Koke Santana, a Chilean actor that is a YouTube personality in Chile.

I give you the first season of Gringolandia. It's bilingual, so you get to practice your Spanish. I think there's a way to get the Spanish cuts translated by YouTube.

Koke Santana plays Peter in Gringolandia

Chile Lindo empanadas were a hit at Stanford's multinational BBQ party. From Iranians to Germans... international students got to taste their first ever empanada and Chileans made their mark.

Kudos to the Stanford Chilean Association for taking time from their busy schedule to organize and participate in this annual event hosted by the International Center.

Thank you Daniel Vergara and Carolina Navarrete for thinking of Chile Lindo! It was wonderful to spend the day with the Stanford Chilean Student Association, to see their pride in representing Chile, and to see their dedication to their children (many students have families) undeterred by the rigorous academic challenges they undoubtedly face. Not to mention being surrounded by the friendly camaraderie and the distinct Chilean humor was refreshing.

Keep up the good work!

Aztec Danzers

It's official! Calle 24 SF stands for Latino identity of the 24th Street "Cultural Corridor," from Potrero Avenue to Mission Street. Calle 24 SF advocates for neighborhood services, local businesses, arts and cultural programs, and improved public spaces."

On June 1st, the San Francisco Latino Historical Society held a press conference and speakers highlighted the importance of keeping the cultural essence of the Mission District. It was a great day, with the presence of Supervisor Campos, SF State Professor Carlos Cordoba, artist René Yañez (founder of Galería La Raza and Day of the Dead in SF), SF Poet Laureate Alejandro Murguía, and so many with deep roots in our one-of-a-kind Mission District.

  Event Photos

The pages of history are never turned by one single factor, but rather the narrative pushes forward due to a varying number of  serendipitous actions, prompted by parallel groups, toward change. As someone that has been observing very closely the political, business, and cultural interchange between Chile and California, I'd dare say that our Golden State may end up closer to Chile than the rest of our nation. After all, they're practically siblings. They're a mirror image of each other, and they share a common history that dates back to the Gold Rush--back to the days before the Panama Canal when Valparaíso was a vibrant port of call between the Atlantic and the Pacific en route to San Francisco. From the Chile California Council, to ChileGlobal, to Start-Up Chile, to Sausalito-Viña del Mar Sister Cities, to the Davis/Berkeley/Stanford Student Associations, to, of course,... Chile Lindo's Girl from Empanada--the tidal forces between the furthermost northern and southern coasts of the Western Hemisphere are worthy of attention, to say the least.

The Chile-California Council is an alliance between the State of California and the Republic of Chile that dates back to the Kennedy administration. In 2008, then-(and present) President Michelle Bachelet and then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger launched "Chile-California: A Parnership for the Twenty-First Century." In 2011, during former President Sebastián Piñera's administration, the Chile-California Council was established as a non-profit. Chilean vintner (and the man responsible for launching Chilean wine internationally) Agustín Huneeus became its first Chair, a position held as of September 2013, by Lovell (Tu) Jarvis, Professor at the University of California, Davis.

 CCC Fourth Annual Board Meeting Newsletter

With Susana Claro, PhD student at Stanford and co-founder of Enseña Chile Photo credit: Timothy Mak Courtesy of Chile California Council

 Chile-California/agreements

Chile just had a shift in administration, thus the Chilean ambassador to the US, and the US ambassador to Chile, just took up their posts. With barely hours after meeting with the respective presidents of each country, both ambassadors made it to the CCC annual board meeting and reception. Chile's ambassador to the United States is Juan Gabriel Valdés, and the US ambassador to Chile is Michael Hammer. Both addressed the crowd with a great sense of humor. Both commented on how they'd had a full three minutes to meet with the respective presidents, Valdés with Obama and Hammer with Bachelet, before being sent off on their missions.

I did not have the opportunity to meet Ambassador Valdés, but I did have a word with his wife, Antonia Echeñique. As you can imagine, she was quite in demand, so I barely got my "elevator pitch" on Chile Lindo before she was led away. She handed me, however, the ever so prized networking event gold--her business card. She is the executive director of Jardí­n Botánico Chagual, a botanical garden project, focused on the plants native to central Chile, a region that enjoys a Mediterranean climate.

I did get a word with US Ambassador Michael Hammer. I told him all about the Sister Cities program and he took immediate interest. Both ambassadors stressed the importance of the bilateral activities presently in effect.

Beatríz Manz, Ethnic Studies Department at UC Berkeley and Center for Latin American Studies at Berkeley, introduced me to Almudena Bernabeu. Bernabeu is a lawyer who works for The Center for Justice and Accountability. She has been working on singer-songwriter Victor Jara's case for many years. A film about Victor Jara's story (murdered days after the coup) has been in the works for a very long time. I asked Bernabeu about developments on that project and she said that Joan Jara, Victor's wife (British) and his two daughters were anxious to see the project take off. Oscar winning actress Emma Thompson bought the rights. Thompson started working on the script in the early '90s, and she was going to play Joan Jara. Antonio Banderas was supposed to play Victor Jara. Well Ms. Thompson, with all due respect, the projected cast is outgrowing the characters. As the Brits would say: "get on with it!"

Finally, I met Dr. Erick Young, Astronomer and Director of SOFIA, Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. As you may know, Chile has privileged skies for observatories, and if you follow my newsletter, you know all about ALMA. I asked Erick Young about SOFIA's mission, "Is this a plane for war, to detect mineral deposits, or to study potential weather disasters?" His response, "None of the above". Turns out this is a plane that flies over the atmosphere in order to look up into space, not down towards Earth. Dr. Young explained that once the plain is above the atmosphere, a window opens in mid-flight and it becomes an observatory for celestial exploration. Fascinating indeed!

SOFIA's website explains: "Carrying a 2.5-metre telescope inside a modified Boeing 747SP, the airborne observatory performs astronomical observations in the infrared and submillimetre wavelengths, high above the disturbance of Earth's atmosphere. The scientific objective is to understand the development of galaxies and the formation and evolution of stars and planetary systems from interstellar clouds of gas and dust."

Voilá.~

Are you looking for a place to watch Chile vs Australia in the World Cup?

I'll be selling empanadas at SoMa StrEat Food Park during the games. Chile vs Australia, Friday, June 13, @ 3:00 PM. By the way, Paloma Muela has a truck that serves beer and wine!


What's next for Chile Lindo? Stay tuned!

Sincerely,