The islands of Chiloe are located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern Chile. Physically isolated from the rest of Chile, these islands have a rich heritage all their own.
One of their traditions is a festive dance entitled el costillar, which Owen's pre-school class presented at his Dieciocho program today. Owen has been very excited about this, but unfortunately his partner did not show and he was assigned a new one at the last minute. Even so, he did a great job! I tried to videotape the dance but was twice frustrated by a teacher in a very pretty dress who liked to stand right in front of my camera. So the videos to come are the best two out of three, just to give you an idea of how the costillar works. To quote one website:
The costillar is a festive and competitive dance [around] a bottle placed in the center of the track. The characteristic of the costillar is the skill and agility of the dancers ... The dancers must jump, tap and redouble [quickly around] the bottle. The one that knocks down or throws the bottle must pay a fine or simply he loses and must retire from the dancing floor.
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