We continue with our series about how Chileans celebrate independence with another excerpt from Hamilton's article.
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Colors in the Sky
If you tell someone in English to “go fly a kite,” you're trying to get him or her to leave you alone. If you say it to children in Chile, though, most of them will be out the door in a minute to enjoy one of September’s greatest delights. September, which is just on the brink of spring in South America, is a pleasantly breezy month in Chile. Ideal for flying a kite! And, as in some other countries, in Chile kite flying is supreme. In the past, most kites were homemade, but now more and more are commercially produced and more elaborate than those that come out of the family workroom.
Nevertheless, homemade kites still, and always will, have a charm that will keep them flying. As everywhere else, the idea of kite flying is to see who can stay up there the longest and the highest. At the same time, however, the person controlling the string can experience a good run on the beach, through a soccer field, or in any open space in the neighborhood.
All through September in all parts of Chile the kites f
ly, and sometimes besides the person flying the kite, you can still see groups of youngsters who run with long poles, gladiator-fashion, after the kites that take a nosedive and get caught in telephone wires and on tree limbs. On Dieciocho (the 18th of Sept.), there are kite-flying contests all over the country, with the bright colors of the airborne paper dotting the sky. One of the most popular designs for the kites is the Chilean flag.Come back tomorrow for Part Four: Flags and the National Anthem
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