Anyone who has an appreciation for the arts (classical music, ballet, art, etc.) would love to live in Santiago. The classical music lover in me is in hog heaven. Last night, Dave and I attended one of three or four free Christmas concerts in our neighborhood and it was literally just down our street. The setup apparently has taken days, but I expected a small ensemble with maybe 100 or so patrons; I was shocked to see how huge it was. (Our community, Lo Barnechea, has an enormous "corporacion cultural" and sponsors all sorts of events.)
It was one of the more interesting concerts I've attended. The entire event - all outdoors - was a perfect blend of a classical music concert and a baseball game. There were bleachers all around the stage and a huge area in the middle with seats. It was standing room only at the start of the concert. I opted for the bleachers in the middle back (best sound) and throughout the concert, there were guys walking around selling bags of peanuts, popcorn and sweets. People were climbing up and down the bleachers throughout the concert, kids were running around everywhere, but I was still able to hear everything thanks to an excellent sound system, fantastic photography and a huge video monitor set up on stage. When it got dark, the vendors started selling little light up toys for the kids. I thought we'd be underdressed but everyone was in jeans, sweatshirts, coats, sandals, etc.
True to Chilean style, the concert didn't start until 8:55 pm (after a published 8:30 pm start time) and wasn't over until about 11:00 pm, but the last half of the concert, Stravinsky's "Firebird" and Ravel's "Bolero" pulled everyone to their feet for a standing ovation. The applause and bravos went on and on; it was wonderful to hear such an appreciative crowd. I walked home with some neighbors happily humming "Bolero."
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