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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
December 20, 2005
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| November 11, 2005 |
Protecting the indigenous cultures of Chile – Andrea Alvarez Llanca |
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| Andrea Alvarez Llanca, who came on Peace Boat to teach about the situation for indigenous cultures in Chile. |
Andrea Alvarez Llanca is an energetic face of one of Chile’s most fascinating cultures. As a guest on Peace Boat between Peru and Chile, the 21 year old journalism student provided participants with a fascinating insight to the Mapuche people – the indigenous Indians of Chile. |
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| Andrea, dressed in traditional Mapuche clothing, gives a lecture on traditional culture and customs of the Mapuche people. |
Through her discussions, Andrea highlighted problems facing indigenous tribes in Chile. One of these issues was a lack of cultural identity among young people from indigenous tribes in Chile, she said. Andrea grew up somewhat distanced from her heritage. Her mother, a Machupe, didn't teach her the native Mapuche language, as she was afraid of discrimination. |
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| Andrea, with another Chilean guest, Bruno Serrano. |
“When I was young, I didn’t know of any activities going on to keep Machupe culture and traditions alive. In Chile there is no tradition for teaching this to young people,” she said. “Another problem is people who can’t speak the language – the number of people who can teach the language is decreasing. There is a big traditional knowledge gap between the old and the young.” Andrea’s uncle is a leader for a campaign to protect the tradition of Mapuche, and she too has become involved in the movement. |
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| Andrea wearing a Japanese yukata While on Peace Boat, Andrea was able to learn about Japanese culture. “As you let me learn about your culture, I hope you could also learn about mine.” |
Over the last century the Mapuche people had much of their land stripped from them, and were forced to move to the cities. Tough economic circumstances and lack of government support made it hard for indigenous tribes – who were traditionally rural based – to live in the cities. Andrea hopes that the government of Chile will offer more support to the indigenous tribes of Chile. “Accessing our culture is getting more and more difficult. However, if we fight to protect it, we can become stronger,” she said. |
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