June 15, 2022

I Gave Chilean President Gabriel Boric

a Michael Roman Chile Lindo Apron!

Last week Chilean President Gabriel Boric attended the Ninth Summit of the Americas, hosted by US President Biden, in Los Angeles, California. The local Chilean community working in the cultural arena were invited to an encuentro with President Boric at the famous Biltmore Hotel—the Academy Awards venue during Hollywood’s heyday, between 1930 and 1943. Yours truly received an invitation to the intimate reception held on Tuesday, June 7th. This set me off on a regimen of physical and mental activity of military proportions in order to plan and prepare for the once-in-a-life-time PR opportunity for the Chile Lindo network; established over the years one empanada at a time. I called my mother in New York City to give her the good news and like any red-blooded Chilean mother, before hanging up, she asked: “what are you going to wear?”

I figured that if the reception was at the Biltmore, the delegation would be staying there and meeting the President was the highlight, but my focus would be on mingling with those orbiting the scene. I follow Chilean politics closely so I recognize many of the players. “Good credit is better than cash,” so I booked a cheap flight and splurged on the Biltmore Hotel in order to be in the thick of it. I was lucky, there were very few rooms left.

The days leading up to the upcoming meeting with the President occupied my mind so much that at my empanada shop customers had to remind me to charge them (fortunately they want me to stay in business). Should I splurge on the Biltmore or not? Did I drop off the dry cleaning? Prepare Chile Lindo’s inventory, pay the bills (on time), submit payroll and invoices for caterers. And most important: what should I wear?

Preguntando se llega a Roma—all roads lead to Rome. I arrived in LA after sunset and took the LAX FlyAway downtown, and from there a city bus that stopped in front of the hotel. I watched my back as clearly my carry-on revealed that I was an out-of-towner, but as in most big cities in the US, men look more menacing than they are. After checking in and hanging up my outfit—that had gotten my mother’s OK: She texted, “Wow, It’s perfect.” I texted back: “I passed the hardest test of the entire event.” My mother was a fashion model in Chile in the early 50s and she continued modeling in NYC when she first landed in 1959. Today, in her 80s she still turns heads with her sense of style and she’s writing a film script about the Rieloff sister’s immigrant experience from Chile to NYC in the 1950s.

I was ready to start my adventure by heading straight to, where else?, the bar.

I must say that I liked Los Angeles standards and the people are sharp. The bartender was a pro. A Filipino with a great personality that fixed a perfect Cosmopolitan and those that asked for a “drink menu,” something so prevalent in San Francisco, got a dirty look. I soon started a conversation with a Costa Rican mother and son celebrating her birthday, followed by a conversation with folks from the Midwest, one of whom had visited Chile. Fortunately, we live in an age when a woman can sit at the bar and it’s not frowned upon—at least not here.

Once back in my room I contemplated everything I was going to do the next day. I was going to catch up with my friend Caro Garri, a biochemist that I met when she studied at UC Berkeley and now has a fabulous job in LA. I was also going to meet, before the event, with my much admired friend, artist Francisco Letelier and his artist wife Marybeth Fama. Francisco and Marybeth collaborated on a gorgeous mural titled “Into the Blue,” recently unveiled at the new LAX Airport Police facility. But what had me the most preoccupied was my plan to give President Boric a Chile Lindo apron. I told no one of my intention, and before going to sleep I wished upon a star to make it happen.

I first met Caro Garri when we worked on the Encuentros 2011 conference at UC Berkeley, a summit organized by scientists and Chilean students on study-abroad government scholarships.

The following morning I went down for breakfast and was told that I’d have to wait for a table. While I waited, I could tell that the president was seated behind an opaque glass divider. Suddenly his assistant approached the host and asked for the Los Angeles Times. The stressed host said: “we don’t carry it.” I immediately volunteered to get the LA Times for the president. I stepped out only to realize that long gone are the days that every corner had a newspaper stand. Darn! What had I gotten myself into? I asked around and fortunately I was directed to a 7-11 by someone that still bought the paper. Upon returning, President Boric was alone with his security guard. I handed the security guard the paper and as the host showed me to my table I caught a glance of the president behind the LA Times. Throughout my stay I ran into the security guard on numerous occasions and we’d strike up a conversation. He took great interest in my work and I showed him the historic Hollywood photo exhibition at the Biltmore. He had worked for five administrations and showed me behind-the-scenes photos of President Sebastián Piñera, President Michelle Bachelet and President Ricardo Lagos.

Ran into another San Francisco Bay Area local, Matías Alcalde, Executive Director of the Chile-California-Council, an organization that leads important programs and is doing great work in multiple disciplines.

Soon enough it was time to attend the reception. The first thing that went into my purse was the neatly folded apron. I met up with Francisco and Marybeth for a drink and then we walked over to the appropriately called Rendezvous Court. The president was a bit delayed which was perfect because it gave me plenty of networking time. I recognized Senator Yasna Provoste, former presidential candidate and minister during the presidencies of Ricardo Lagos and Michelle Bachelet. I met members of the Chilean LA community, some of whom I knew through social media. Introductions right and left—(literally, Chile is very politically polarized).

To my left Senator Javier Macaya and to my right Senator Yasna Provoste.

The outfit—a gaucho look with a vintage Chilean sash. Pictured with the head of protocol, Manahi Pakarati, whose professional attire represents her Rapa Nui heritage, distinctive of this new, young, administration.

Standing out from the crowd were the members of a Chilean folk ensemble, in traditional attire, that traveled all the way from Utah! They call themselves Viva Chile Utah, and present a unique interpretation of Chilean folk. This first generation of Chilean immigrants growing up in Utah are very passionate about their ancestry. They put on a show for the president and guests that symbolized—as only art can—the times and transformations Chile is experiencing since the recent election of this thirty-six-year-old president and his young cabinet. This group, that grew up in the US, expressed what President Boric alluded to in his opening speech: we honor our traditions, but traditions evolve and change through the ages. The performance started out with rappers inspired by Gracias a la vida, a classic composed by Violeta Parra, followed by the traditional folk dance, la Cueca, ending with the Polynesian dances of Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The director is Cristóbal Márquez and Macarena Rodríguez is their artistic director.

Viva Chile Utah executed a beautifully choreographed show wearing costumes and performing dances that symbolize Chile. They represented the extent of Chile’s notoriously long and narrow geography, incorporating the indigenous Aymara of the desert north, through the viticulture of the fertile Central Valley, down to the land of the indigenous Mapuches of the south where Patagonia just begins; extending their rendition to the Chileó Archipelago and to Te Pito O Te Henua (which in the Rapa Nui language means the navel of the world). Yes! They nailed it with a creative contemporary twist. In fact, upon his arrival the president spent a lot of time talking to the group and taking selfies.

President Gabriel Boric met with the members of Viva Chile Utah.

With the artistic director, Macarena Rodríguez, and members of Viva Chile Utah.

Chilean Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Juan Gabriel Valdés and Francisco Letelier.

(left-to-right) Marybeth Fama, Francisco Letelier, filmmaker Lorena Manríquez, Carolina Kettles, and art curator Isabel Rojas-Williams.

Chilean Ambassador Juan Gabriel Valdés and Sergio Torres-Letelier, founder of Two Doors Entertainment in Los Angeles, CA.

With the Consul General of Chile in Los Angeles, Mr. Jorge Valdés.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Antonia Urrejola with members of Viva Chile Utah.

After singing the national anthem, the Consul General of Chile in Los Angeles, Mr. Jorge Valdés, introduced many of the dignataries starting with the Chilean Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Juan Gabriel Valdés, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Antonia Urrejola—who humorously said she would only take a moment to greet us to establish paridad, gender equity—and President Gabriel Boric. Upon taking the mic the president immediately pointed out that his was a female-majority cabinet. President Boric gave a short speech, that I will share in this newsletter, and then was immediately surrounded by a multitude that asked for his autograph and the token selfie. I waited just beyond the crowd and suddenly they parted and the president walked towards me and I had his full attention. I told him about my work dedicated to the community in San Francisco and that I wanted to give him a gift created by Michael Roman (1956-2018), a Mission District artist. I explained that the artist was discovered by Santana, in New York City, and invited to the Mission in San Francisco where he became famous for printing Santana’s t-shirts and jackets. Michael Roman also worked on Madonna’s Desperately Seeking Susan and with the John Coltrane Memorial Church.

When the President saw that it was an apron he exclaimed “oh, el delantal” (the apron) and laughed. Francisco Letelier—artist that he is—caught the fabulous photos of my trip’s highlight. Francisco knows the Mission scene very well because he created, at the Mission Cultural Center, in the 80s, a series of iconic posters of that era.

I am happy to report that the President of Chile has my card and a Michael Roman Chile Lindo apron!

Can Chile’s Young President Reimagine the Latin American Left?

Here's a link to an article on President Gabriel Boric published in the latest edition of The New Yorker.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/13/can-chiles-young-president-reimagine-the-latin-american-left

Viva Chile Utah

Finally, back at the bar, I told my bartender friend that I had given the president a Chile Lindo apron. I also had a fascinating conversation with a man who had toured Chile with famed jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, and soon afterwards met a Spanish man and a Venezuelan woman that sat next to me. I told them how “the humble Chilean empanada had led me to meet the President of Chile and that I had gifted him an apron.” It turned out that they were journalists for CNN Español and they loved the story. Right there and then they texted their editor and got the OK for an interview. So the next day, early morning as all the bigshots roamed, guess who was in front of the cameras? As my former boss and good friend, PR lord and master, Paul Pendergast says: “it’s grit and glory” for us. One day I’m cleaning up after the homeless and the next I’m meeting the Chilean President. Isn’t that the American way?

Saludos,

Paula Tejeda

Chile Lindo

My favorite bar tender in LA. He's a pro!

I simply could not end this newsletter without a picture of the mural that on a previous trip I had a chance to see in person.

"The mural titled, “Into the Blue,” by Los Angeles artist Francisco Letelier in collaboration with Marybeth Fama, is featured at the front entrance of the Airport Police Facility, located on the northeast corner of Westchester Parkway and Loyola Boulevard."

Chile Lindo

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San Francisco, CA 94103

Chile Lindo's newsletters, published since 2009, are archived at ChileLindo.com