Despite the approach of winter, most days are still warm enough in Santiago for some flowering plants to thrive. Right now, there is a very interesting contrast of traditional fall colors on most of the trees, and purple blossoms still bloom on the jacarandas in the plaza.
This week, we visited the Mapuche cultural center in Santiago to learn more about the indigenous Mapuche people and their culture. The Mapuche language, Mapudungün, is not widely spoken in Chile, in part because it was intentionally excluded from the educational system of Chile for many years in an attempt to force the Mapuche to adopt Spanish, the country's national language. However, Mapudungün was the primary language spoken in central and southern Chile and in parts of Argentina before the Spaniards arrived.
Peso coins come in values all the way from 1 peso (a tiny silver coin worth 0.15 cent or $0.0015 US) up to 500 pesos, which is about $0.73 US.
The bills range from 1.000 pesos up to 20.000 pesos (remember, Chileans use a period instead of a comma to set off thousands, millions, etc.). They come in different colors, with pictures of famous Chileans on one side and national parks and wildlife on the other.
