#Concho y Toro

[2023megan]

You had me at Merlot

The Concha Y Toro case is a good example of the challenges a brand faces when the product they are selling is being judged on a categorial basis across the industry rather than the products itself. I don’t know anyone who says, “I prefer beer Mexican beers to Irish beers,” but when it comes to wines there is strong quality and reputational association with these factors. Of any type of alcohol, wine purchases are driven by country of origin and type of grape rather than brand. Most consumers have a preference for red vs white, and depending on the meal or occasion, prefer Italian wines vs Californian wines. The decision after that depends on price, bottle placement in the store, or recommendations from others. Personally, I make my wine decisions based off of the label artwork more than anything else. This begs the question of how consumers determine wine quality and the importance of cognitive associations outside of brands.

The halo effect with wine has major consequences for brands who produce wine in countries where consumers have little knowledge or negative impressions of the region. This makes it challenging for brands to distinguish themselves in the eyes of consumers, especially when the country of origin is dragging those brands down. The true challenge for Concha Y Toro will be changing the perception of the region of Chile as a whole and not just their own brand. However, in lieu of the resources and time, Concho Y Toro should pursue a bottoms-up strategy and focus on building out its premium segments. Similar to the Black and Decker case, if wine consumption is tied to perception then it is unlikely a consumer will believe that a brand known for being cheap and mass-marketed can actually produce a high-quality wine. 

Concha Y Toro should not underestimate the power of price as a signal of quality. Given that the majority of wine consumption is based off perception rather than actual quality, moving into the premium markets might just be the move that makes this Chilean wine more attractive to consumers. Yes, this strategy did not work for Piat, but that’s because French wines were already seen as premium quality so its existence on the lower-end of the market created suspicion amongst consumers. Given that there is lower awareness of Chilean wine, this strategy can be successful.

My branding project is focused on rebranding the Boston Herald. Similar to this case, the Boston Herald is facing a problem that most local newspapers are facing, which is a decline in circulation from the inability to digitalize and lack of awareness amongst Millennials and Gen Z. The Boston Herald also faces consequences from the halo effect positively effecting other papers, such as The New York Times and The Washington Post. One potential avenue to explore is for the newspaper to customize content circulation by user. This can be as simple as the user completing a quick survey in the app during sign-up and being notified of specific articles when they are released as well as recommendations for other articles the user may like, similar to Netflix. This reduces the time spent on the app searching for relevant content to read and personalizes the experience.

[emilyrebeccabridges]

A fine wine

The role of quality vs perception in wine consumption has become a hotly debated and researched topic. In The Wine Trials, Robin Goldstein collected over 6,175 wine ratings from 506 participants. The blind tastings sampled 523 different bottles of wines, ranging in price from $1.65 to $150. While the experts did indeed give the more expensive wines slightly higher ratings, the non-experts gave the expensive wines lower ratings. Similar results have been replicated in countless studies, indicating that when tasting blind, the average person does not find more expensive wine to be more tasty.

In the opposite vein, Plassman et al. conducted a study to evaluate how changing the price of a product can affect how consumers experience pleasantness. In the study, they scanned subjects using an MRI while they tasted wines that, contrary to reality, they believed to be different and at different price points. Their results show that not only did the subjects subjectively identify the “more expensive” wines as having a more pleasant flavor, but the MRI’s also showed an increase in "blood-oxygen-level-dependent activity in medial orbitofrontal cortex, an area that is widely thought to encode for experienced pleasantness during experiential tasks". So, not only did the subjects report the "expensive wine" as being better, but the scans implied they truly got more pleasure from the “more expensive” wines.

So, consumers can’t tell which wine is “good wine” and which wine is “bad wine”, but they enjoy “expensive wine” more than “cheap wine”?

Wine is a credence good, meaning that it is difficult or impossible to determine the quality of the good you are paying for, even after you have consumed the good. Because it is so difficult to ascertain the quality of a credence good, consumers look to signals to indicate quality. An obvious signal comes from price. For example, when going to a dinner party, you bring a $50 bottle of wine for the host. Reasoning it out, if it costs $50, it must be better than the bottle that costs $15, and thus it seems like a safe choice. As discussed in the case and the experiment, another signal can come from producer’s location. If a wine was produced in a region with an aura of refinement and sophistication, this can act as a signal that the wine is of high quality. When price and location cannot be leveraged to signal quality, then sometimes you end up relying on Moira.

So, what does this mean for Concho y Toro? I think the best way forward for Concho y Toro would be pursue a “bottoms-up” strategy, and emphasize the premium and super premium price segments. Concho y Toro is already seeing some success in these segments, as they make up almost 40% of their sales by value (case exhibit 16). In addition, these are the segments with the highest growth prospects over the coming years (case exhibit 8). I worry that in pursuing a “top-down” strategy, in which the brand exploits the prestige of its high-end wines to expand into the basic segment, they risk cannibalizing the reputation of their premium offerings. If wine is all about perception, becoming the biggest name in cheap wine, does not seem like a path to success.

Sources:

Goldstein, R. (2008). The wine trials. Fearless Critic Media.

Plassman, H., O’Doherty, J., Shiv, B., Rangel, A.. (January 22, 2008). Marketing actions can modulate neural representations of experienced pleasantness. PNAS. Retrieved April 16, 2023. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.0706929105

[2001amemeodyssey]

Concho y Toro, one of the most elegant neighborhoods in Santiago

[jennyzhu]

Impressions Shape Perception

The Berlin Tasting showed the world that the quality of Chilean wines were top-notch. Yet Chilean wines are still seen to be “safe but boring” and “value for money.” These perceptions may quickly transform into hurdles as Chilean wine brands’, such as Concho y Toro, look to expand and grow in the wine market. In the wine industry, in fact, perceptions are largely attributed to the wine’s country of origin, and consumers are particularly sensitive to information about the origin. And I have to admit, I am one of those consumers. When I am purchasing wine at my local wine store, where wines are organized by regions of the world, I tend to the sections of the store with countries perceived to be more classy and refined. As someone who lacks knowledge about wine, but still desires wine of high quality, I am highly influenced by my perception of  a particular country’s wine.

How did Chilean wines even become cognitively associated with “low-end”? Impressions shape perception. For instance, Chilean wines entered the Japanese market with low-quality, cheap wines, and despite increasing quality over the years, Japanese consumers still associate Chilean wines with being “cheap.” As shown, it is extremely difficult to break cognitive associations — impressions endure, and quality does not necessarily dictate perception. 

Let’s take a look at the Apple iPhone vs the Google Pixel. Google Pixel is a very high-quality phone, arguably better than the iPhone in various dimensions. But what makes the iPhone more popular and desired in my generation is the brand.  The iPhone positions itself to be sleek, radiate elegance, and have a seamless user experience. Its ubiquitous symbol underpins how consumers perceive the quality of the phone…a classic case of perception comes first.

In light of this ism and oversaturation in the basic wine segment, I recommend that Concha y Toro focus on investing in their premium segment. Concha y Toro might be able to successfully craft the perception of high-quality among their premium wines by creating new cognitive associations. By emphasizing quality (through hosting more blind taste tests and/or better advertising the their outcomes) and associating Chilean wine with a strong image or story, perhaps Concha y Toro can strengthen its presence and become a ubiquitous symbol within the premium wine segment, allowing the brand more opportunities to grow and refine itself in the wine industry.

For my Branding Lab final project, my team is focusing on Marvel vs DC. I would liken Marvel to European wine brands, cognitively associated to be the better and higher-quality “universe.” This association is likely attributed to one of the nudges we identified: social comparison/proof — young adults tend to generate more buzz and talk about the Marvel Universe, which may influence other young adults’ behavior as to which universe’s media they decide to engage more with. To measure the impact of this nudge, an experiment via social media could be conducted among consumers with little to no prior exposure to either of the universes. The experiment would consist of a control group with no talk/buzz, and two treatment groups — one with only talk about DC and one with only talk about Marvel. All other variables equal, we can measure the behavior of consumers when presented with options on which media to engage with. Hopefully, this experiment can help us take a step back and unravel whether or not nudges can influence perception.

[mbethkay]

The “top-down” strategy – can luxury items be popular?

When I go to a wine shop, I generally do not have time to research every bottle, or find someone knowledgeable to help me – so I go by what I know. French wines have been around a while, and have fancy looking labels so they’re usually a good bet. If I want a Malbec it better be from Argentina, and last time I enjoyed a chardonnay it was from somewhere in California. It is obvious that I am not the only one who chooses win this way, as most wine shops are organized by region/ country.

This seems consistent with the idea that reputation and visual cues often override our other senses (like taste and smell). With wine in particular, this seems to be proven again and again with various studies (including the infamous white wine with food coloring fooling some of the most advanced wine tasters - https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2014/08/the_most_infamous_study_on_wine_tasting.html).

So this got me thinking, what do most of us care about when we buy wine? I wonder how much is meant to be a signal more than a drinking experience. French wine comes with an aura of “refinement and sophistication” that matches the country’s romantic, elegant, and fashionable culture.  A premium price tag demands quality and exclusivity. With wine, I suppose it should taste better and offer a bit of status. But what else do we buy for status?

This reminded me of the Coach purse phenomenon when I was in college. Everyone needed to have that little wristlet that signaled, “I have a hundred dollars to spend, and I want to carry it with me all the time.” They, too, were simple, elegant, made of quality materials and sent a subtle branded signal that “I have something not everyone else has.”

So what happened? Everyone got one. Knockoffs littered the streets of New York, women made it a financial priority… and suddenly the luxury item was too popular. To compete with demand, the product quality diminished. No wonder I have not seen Coach without a “sale” next to it and their parent company’s stock has dropped 66% since their height in March 2012 to November 2019 (a period when the NASDAQ has seen growth).  Being a public company comes with its share of challenges as well: according to one analyst, “the problem is that by keeping Wall Street happy, Coach slowly killed their brand.” (https://www.tomward.com/articles/coach)

For Chilean wine to compete as a New World innovator and entrant with a top down strategy, they must first craft and capitalize their country’s reputation as part of their wine’s image, and second be careful not to tarnish their own brand with over popularity and sacrificing quality. Government investment in Chilean wine promotion abroad supports the idea that wine consumerism is a bridge to tourism and having a national identity could benefit other Chilean industry.

But can a wine maker be both premium enough to signal quality and sell the right quantity to make a profit? Apple did it with cultural capital – with each new iPhone product becoming instantly ubiquitous despite their $800+ price tag, so maybe there is some hope for Concho y Toro!

[syrahqueen]

Tasting Trivento Malbecs With Germán Di Cesare

Tasting Trivento Malbecs With Germán Di Cesare

Malbec is known as a blending grape in Bordeaux and it’s origins are undoubtedly Cahors, but Malbec has found a second home in Argentina.  In Mendoza, Malbec is thriving and some of the best Malbecs are being made by Germán Di Cesare of Bodega Trivento.

Germán di Cesare

The Malbecs of Argentina are evolving, they no longer are the heavy punchers at the table.  With a new generation of winemakers…

[xjanicebae-blog]

To go from the bottom up or the top down, that is the question

The decision for Concha y Toro to move away from the lower end market vs. strive for economies of scale among the lower end buyers in early 2006 shows that the latter is clearly less risky, has more of a track record of success for other brands, and seemingly has more benefits if successful. Thus the “top-down” strategy appears much more appropriate, but if I were in Rafael Guilisasti’s position I would pursue a hybrid approach where the “top-down” strategy later leads to a “bottom-up” strategy. 

Concho y Toro needs high volume to successfully expand its production and thereby improve margins. Without first securing a large customer base and solidifying its presence in numerous markets around the world, Concho y Toro would be taking on a significant risk by transitioning to an elite, high-end brand and market segment. Especially given its previous challenges with convincing consumers of the quality of both Concho y Toro and general Chilean wines, firmly securing widespread demand is a necessary first step now that a positive brand image has been gradually established.

Once Concha y Toro reaches economies of scale, I would suggest investing in initiatives to promote the Concha y Toro brand as high end. Similar to Toyota’s strategy with Lexus, Concha y Toro may have to launch a sub-brand that is specifically associated with the higher end wine products. In order to stay ahead of any price wars down the road and to differentiate from other mass produced wines, it would be worthwhile for Concha y Toro to invest in refining its brand as more than just high-production, affordable wines. If the perception of its brand is truly around quality, charging a price premium over competitor brands in the lower end segment should theoretically be feasible. This comes secondary to volume, but is a step towards long-term sustainability as a brand especially if the wine industry were to become increasingly competitive and focused on low margin production. The key in making this effort successful though would be the branding campaigns that are able to “sell” consumers on the perceived quality of Concha y Toro, not necessarily the actual quality. In other words, the production would stay unchanged but how consumers think of Concha y Toro would have to adjust based on the messaging of its brand marketing.

[jped]

Week Three - Cocho Y Toror

15.846 Branding: Week Three Blog – Concho Y Toro

Wine consumption is largely driven by perception rather than actual quality. Most individuals who are drinking wine seek a level of “refinement and sophistication” (Concho Y Toro, 2010). This means that attributes tied to perception but wholly unconnected to actual quality, influence consumers preferences. For example, consumers tend to use location of wine production as a driver of preference. When consumers were asked to grade three wines that they believed to be from France, California, and Texas, they rated the wine from France the highest, the wine from California the next highest, and the wine from Texas the lowest; in reality, all the wines were the same (Concho Y Toro, 2010).  

For our branding lab final project on Palmcare, an insuretech platform focused on the families of Caribbean immigrants, we could run an experiment in the informational marketing materials provided to prospective plan purchasers. In the control marketing information, we would provide standard information about plan contributions and benefits. In the experimental marketing information, we could include a case study on the savings associated with managing a high-incidence chronic condition (e.g., diabetes), through Palmcare. This could help Palmcare both make the benefits more tangible and draw upon the emotions of Americans who see friends and family suffering from that condition and understand the extent to which poor care can detract from their quality of life.

[objiowillian]

«SE ACERCA Y PRONTO»

Para un iluso febrero,

es el fetiche perfecto,

que dicho tarado soñador,

no entiende por qué su suerte,

de Soltero, cambia de manera abrupta.

Pero jovial y contento,

el renacuajo celebra

su entrevista, de rojo rampante,

sin ser Maserati

En tanto las madres celestinas,

traman su jugada, sin picaporte,

ni candado

pues de común acuerdo,

el boleto de la rifa,

lo sabemos caducado.

Es decir que ninguna moza,

reguetonera, amante de jalar,

las mangueras de la hookah

y bailar el perreo,

se las da de señorita,

si no ve un buey enalbardado.

Para este 14 venidero,

será el momento de brillar,

los pellejos y encontrar,

el melindre del señorito,

y hacerle dar él brincó.

De si fue tratado

con cebo de ovejo.

Quizás te han puesto

a tiro de pájaro.

Y después a soga corta.

yo no sé dé esos afectos.

Más bien yo de lejos miro,

y me hago el pendejo.

De si vi y mire.

Miré usted su negocio,

que mi gallo ta tapao.

Sobre otras Cosas pregunté

a menudeo.

El sí sabe de eso meneó.

Yo no sé de esos menesteres.

E", ma, Yo soy un chimi,

pa mi solito"

Sí 14 "e" día de rojo, y repollo,

yo no sé de hortaliza.

Yo no sé dé luna 🌕 llena,

ni siquiera de Quarto menguante 🌒.

Ya mis ojos han visto mucho

También juzgado, metido

en prisiones.

He, Oído muchas verdades

y también mentiras creíbles.

He conocido moteles,

tugurios, bares, barras,

Restaurantes, ido, venido.

Quedado a pie.

He, andado en taxi,

también he usado moto concho.

He tenido Coche, propio,

y utilizado lo ajeno.

Sé de ríos y de reír 😸

Así sé de Playas, sueños,

y tenido mis desvelos.

Conozco los Toros,

también imaginó lo que huye

una gacela y unos okapis,

cuando será la cena del tigre.

Hasta he visto monos 🐒

comiendo carne.

¡Es decir que "e" vito, casi tó!

Que tal si ahora pa otro cuento

traes una extra terrícola,

al vecindario.

Porque los pendejos.

Ya no tan, Ni tan cerca.

Y menos para el 14 de febrero.

Objiowillianbautista©

022012022🇩🇴

Foto de Florence Ballard

(La ex supremas grupo vocal)🇩🇴

#poesia Sapiencial

[taylor-carter]

Concha y Toro: Perception is Reality

Few industries have the abundance of competition and lack of consumer awareness like the global wine industry. If you polled 100 Sloanies at random it's a safe bet that less than 10 could elaborate on the distinct differences that encompass wine quality and less than five would be able to decipher those differences in a taste test across brands. This comes down to one ultimate truth in industries such as these, perception IS reality.

Concho Y Toro has positioned itself as a brand that has "good value for the price" and that will be hard to escape with an upward pivot into the premium market. However, Concha Y Toro has been able to expand their reach thus far by expanding horizontally into an umbrella brand. If the firm wants to stand behind it's commitment to "prioritize the product, then marketing" while evading increasing margin pressures their best way to do so is through the bottom-up strategy. More specifically by taking a page our of the constellation playbook with Robert Mondavi to find equivalent Chilean wines they can acquire that are already operating in the desired price point and profit margin for their expansion.

Given Concha Y Toro's impressive 50% expansion in European market share from 2001 to 2005 it is clear that their brand is starting to be recognized for the quality they produce but has not yet matured enough to capture a premium price point. In order to combat this, Concha Y Toro's should take a page out of Toyota's playbook with Lexus and leverage their economies of scale and distribution networks to acquire and distribute more broadly Chilean wines that would be forced to go under with the increasing headwinds facing the Chilean economy.

[thechanitizer]

Cultural Prestige Underpins the Perception of Quality

Wine markets being sensitive to country of origin comes as no surprise to me. I think global cuisines and the differences between the prices they command, hinge on the perception of the culture and the relative wealth of their emigrants. The Atlantic published a great article in 2016 about the price of ethnic cuisine over time. We can see that, based on Zagat data starting from 1985 onwards, Japanese cuisine and Chinese cuisine have had quite a divergence. Japanese cuisine went from commanding the fifth highest check price to the absolute highest while Chinese cuisine has remained on the lower end of the spectrum. That’s because in the 1980s to 90s, Japan became associated with quality and affluence, manufacturing reliable cars and high-end electronics.

Food historians claim a similar upward trajectory happened with German and Italian food – rising with prestige as their emigrants rose up in rank within the United States.

Think about it this way: Shrimp Scampi and Shrimp Lo Mein can be made with the same ingredients from the same vendors, but will command radically different prices. This is a “cultural premium”. Fortunately, I don’t see Chilean’s wine industry having the same uphill struggle as a potential Chinese winery in terms of perception. While China has been roundly branded as “cheap,” Chile at least retains some mystique on the global stage. However, due to brand agnosticism for high-end wines in general, I would pursue a top-down strategy were I Concho y Toro.

[samip-jain-blog]

go big or go home?

This post is about Concho y Toro, Latin America’s largest wine exporter as part of MIT Sloan Branding class. 

This case study has discussed a few important branding concepts - bottom-up strategy, top-down strategy, or having two separate brands as in case of Ford. The ideas are really interesting and it worked out for few companies based on their specific problem statement.

After reading this case study, I started wondering what are the other companies who have broken the “default” status of their competitors and what was their strategy. In this case of wine, it is clear that brand name also associates with the country name and the perception we have of that country. As we read from different experiments, it doesn’t matter what brand of wine users are drinking. If we attach a label of a country let’s say France then it will impact the taste.

This led me to think how a telecom provider “Reliance Jio” in India disrupted the market by introducing a new SIM card which includes high data connectivity and voice calls for free. They applied few different marketing strategies like a new brand and bottom-up strategy which eventually led to success. For an instance, they were providing high quality product for free for more than 6 months. This strategy helped them to build trust among consumers that they can rely on the network. Once that trust was established, they launched various new products like Jio Phone, Jio TV, Jio Chat, Jio Music, Jio Cinema, etc.

I also want to point out this great article about Jio - https://www.ft.com/content/3f1fe4d6-e4e0-11e7-a685-5634466a6915

Focusing on the core strength and quality of product plays a key role. As its CEO Eduardo Guilisasti said, “To succeed in global markets, the first step is to inundate the mass segment with a low price–good quality product—’value for your money.” I agree with this, but the question I keep struggling with is to have a high quality product, then price will be high, then how do we balance this? Should we act like Jio and take a big risk?

As the CEO mentioned, “If I have to make a choice, our priority is the product; then, marketing.” I think this line summarizes it all, focus on quality of product.

[kalbanos]

For wine, perception drives growth

When it comes to wine, customers infer quality from a number of different attributes. An interesting study showed that just the price of a bottle of wine impacts reports of enjoyment. Plassman et al in 2008 presented the same two bottles of wine to test subjects at different price points and had them report how much they liked each wine. The results showed that for the same bottle, subjects reported significantly higher ‘Liking’ scores for the higher priced bottle.

In the Concho y Toro case, we’re asked to consider if they should take a bottom-up or top-down approach to growth. This might seem like a lazy answer, but I’d advocate for a little bit of both (as the strategies are outlined in the case).

The low-end brands make up 73% of their sales by volume, and I wouldn’t suggest walking away from that, as the bottom-up strategy suggests. But I do think a sound long-term strategy for Concho y Toro should involve large marketing investments. There also needs to be some focus on premium and super-premium brands, these are the segments expecting the largest growth over the next three years and Concho y Toro should position themselves to capture that growth.

In order to position themselves to capture more sales in the premium markets, it’s critical to understand how customers define premium. The research suggests that wine isn’t judged based on quality attributes. This is different than, say, the automobile category. Toyota makes affordable cars, the quality of which is more easily observed by customers. They are known as a value-based manufacturer because they make value-based cars. This makes it harder for Toyota to try to sell in the luxury segment. But with wine, as stated above, customers judge quality based on other attributes such as the origin, the name, the label, the price. The quality is based much more on perception and therefore could be more susceptible to change with a marketing strategy. With a strong brand, Concho y Toro is better positioned to sell across all price segments.

[worldwidewoody-blog]

Follow the trends

The data indicates that the fastest growing segments in the wine industry are premium and super premium (Exhibit 8). This is good news, as the margins on these products are much higher than their lower end counter parts. In additional, the worldwide wine consumption is growing as a whole (Exhibit 10) and New World producers are supplying a greater percentage of wine exports to supply this consumption (Exhibit 3). All good news, right?

Concho y Toro is in the difficult predicament that they are really building two brands – their own and the “brand of Chile”. The latter, they have much less direct control over and requires changing consumer perceptions which are much deeper rooted in the historical development of the wine industry. We can see from the “Fine as North Dakota” paper that place of origin can have a significant impact on the consumer’s notions of quality. This bears some resemblance to the rise of China’s manufacturing economy. Early on in China’s rise as a manufacturing powerhouse, there was a perception, at least among western cultures that “Made in China” often meant inferior quality. In many ways, this perception overrode the brand of the manufacturing company itself, even if it was one that was American based. The question for Concho y Toro is whether the last 20+ years of steady growth of New World producers in the wine industry in combination with the success of the Concho y Toro brand has done enough to shake consumers preconceived notions about Chilean wine quality.

Reviewing the data and Concho y Toro’s market positioning, I do not think it makes sense to bet on expanding the low-end base of the brand as described in the “top-down” approach. Although wine consumption is increasing, the export markets purchasing Concho y Toro are trending towards a “flight for quality”. The New World wine producers are carrying momentum in their quest for share in the wine market and premium segment customers are indicating a desire for choice and novelty – perhaps a trend Concho y Toro can capitalize on. Further, in a relative sense, Concho y Toro’s production is already scaled and capable of low cost, quality production that allow it to obtain attractive margins even if not quite hitting the top end price tiers of the Old World counterparts in the premium segment. The brand should continue to lobby and invest along side the government in the “brand of Chile” to change the perception of the wine industry as a whole. They should consider creating a new ultra-premium brand to serve as an example to the public that they can offer quality comparable to the Old World and by doing so, change consumers’ perception as the Concho y Toro brand as a whole and make them more receptive to the Concho y Toro name moving into more premium and super-premium market positions.

[el-auki]

Elegía de la Raza

León, Miguel Ángel Era recio, el más recio de todos los vaqueros bajo este sauce como bajo una jaula de jilgueros habíamos plantado nuestra choza. La vida me pasaba haciendo risas en su boca como se pasa el río haciendo rosas en la campiña. Yo le daba mis brazos para que con ellos se ciña como se ceñía la beta cuando se iba a luchar con los toros. Venía con la tarde y con los ruidos sonoros de su brava espuela. La choza bien abierta, abierta como un día sonreírle parecía con sus menudos dientes claros de candela. Yo solo yo solo y mi perro cerca del fogón preparando la hogaza siempre me traía del cerro plumas de Cóndor y pieles de chacal, adornos propios para mi raza. Era de verle vestido; su vestido de cabra tenía espinas y rosas como tiene el rosal y era un lazo de amor blandiendo su palabra. Era recio, el más recio de todos los vaqueros, era de verle domando los potros más fieros. La arcilla de su cuerpo estaba fundida en las candentes fraguas de los volcanes; de tanto darse contra los torrentes se había endurecido su carne bruñida: le abrían paso hasta les huracanes y no le importaba dejar la vida como una cinta de sangre en la punta de una lanza. Apto para la guerra; apto para la labranza hacía de un puñado de tierra un océano de maíz; agarrado a su chacra como una raíz; afilaba el machete de la venganza en la piedra negra de su orgullo; su palabra de odio era como un capullo escarlata en la boca. Esbelta su figura, bronceada la piel; así era él, indio de la raza pura hijo legítimo del sol. Un día, lo recuerdo, un día el amo hizo chasquear la rienda en el granito de sus espaldas. Se oyó un grito, un grito de coraje; un grito fiero que parecía vibrar entre sus dientes como una hoja de acero. Ese grito, era el grito de aquel hombre mío, que al sentir el rayo de la rienda en la cara lanzóse contra el amo con los ojos cerrados, como se lanzan los toros a embestir en el páramo. El amo volvióse del color que tienen los pétales de las retamas. Dio un paso, un trágico paso, trémulo hacia atrás de repente, sacudiendo su melena de llamas, del cinturón de cuero salta la fiera de una pistola... El balazo al sembrarse en la cara del recio vaquero hizo brotar una amapola de sangre. Era la última víctima de la guerra de la conquista; sus labios besaban la tierra y era como dos lucecillas moribunda su vista; sus ajos que tenían el color de las uvillas se habían enverdecido y como los tigres moría mordiendo un bramido ... Como me pasé toda la noche hasta la madrugada con el oído puesto en su pecho oyendo su vida. Después... todo fue nada murió el más recio de los vaqueros de las vaquerías el que tenía las espaldas anchas como los troncos de pino. Después... todo fue nada, el amo ese día como todos los días, bebió leche fresca y un vaso de vino. Después... todo fue nada. Sólo yo en las noches oigo el ruido de su bocina y siento que por los caminos camina arrastrando su poncho; y tengo envidia del perro de ojos de fósforo que debe verlo en el concho de la nube, muy al fondo porque aúlla tan negro, porque aúlla tan hondo. Canta mirlo negro; di tú de profundis torcaza, río que viene gritando desde arriba llora mi dolor y el dolor de la raza, de esta raza vencida. Que juro era fuerte como fue el hombre mío, que juro que era bello como los búcaros de las aguacollas rojas; juro que era bravo, por eso le domaron como se doma a los chúcaros con el látigo y la rodaja; juro que tenía los músculos anchos y duros como las chontas, juro que algún día del bronce de su carne como de un pedrizco tiene que brotar la luz. Pobre indio, pobre raza hasta de Jesús no le enseñaron más que la cruz y la corona de espinas, nunca le dijeron que era hermano del hombre que habla castellano y a golpes como de las minas extrajeron de su cuerpo el oro, por eso no tiene más amigos que el asno, el perro y el toro; el que barbecha las tierras y hacer brotar los trigos. Canta mirlo negro. Di tú de profundis torcaza, río que vienes gritando desde arriba llora mi dolor y el dolor de la raza.

Miguel Ángel  León

[livefromelsewhere]

After sprinting through Bolivia and northern Chile, it was time to actually spend more than a day and a half in one place. For the past weekend that place was Santiago, by far Chile's largest city (40% of the country's population lives here), and a super fun place. I hadn't met many travelers along the way who had had much to say about it, but I thought it was an awesome city. It was clean and organized (it felt very European), had a great night life (being in a big city on a weekend hadn't happened to me since Quito), played a huge role in Chile's history, and was just all around nice. I could definitely see myself living there. I arrived on Friday morning after catching a quick (1.5 hours) bus from Valparaiso. I dropped my things off at my hostel and walked the park the stretches along the banks of the Mapocho river in town to the central fish market, rated one of the five best in the world, where I grabbed a delicious and cheap lunch. I next headed to a guided walking tour that showed off the traditional historic sites in the center of town. Most of the buildings in Santiago, unfortunately, aren't original, as Chile has been wracked by countless earthquakes (more on this later, but don't worry, it's fun), which destroyed basically all of the colonial architecture. Perhaps the most important stop on the tour was outside the Casa de Moneda (see above), Chile's White House. The building was the site of the most dramatic part of the military coup of 1973 that put Auguste Pinochet in power for decades. The former president Salvador Allende was a left wing socialist and America was not happy having him around in South America during the Cold War, so they undermined the economy to pressure him to step down (Thanks Nixon!). However the day before a referendum was to be held on Allende's presidency, Pinochet, the chief general of the army, overthrew the president, going as far as dropping bombs on the Casa de Moneda and eventually storming the building where they then removed the body of the president from the building. Later autopsy by the government (under Pinochet) indicated that Allende committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest and the brain with his own AK-47 (think about that for a second). The coup led to decades of a repressive dictatorship that still haunts many people in the the country today. There is a burgeoning burst of political activism today as many younger people who didn't live through the worst of the dictatorship have begun forcing reforms on the government, which has opened up considerably in the last decade or so. After the walking tour, I joined four others who I met on the tour (Taylor, Carl, Bianca, and Cat) for a round of Chile's national drink, the Terremoto, or earthquake. It's a sickly sweet combination of pineapple ice cream, white wine, rum, and grenadine. One round turned into three, and after everyone headed back to their places to change for the night, we then all met up again at a swanky rooftop bar before hitting the reggaeton club (there is no other option in South America) in the Bellavista neighborhood. It was totally bumping and made for a great, but late night. The next morning (well it was almost afternoon), I groggily woke up and decided to try and burn off the previous nights fun by hiking to the top of Cerro San Cristobal, a big hill/park in the city. The view from the top wasn't great as there was a thick layer of smog blanketing the city (you mean 7.5 million people living in an enclosed valley is a bad thing for air quality?). I made my way back to my hostel, picked up my laundry (desperately needed to get some fresh clothes), before visiting the impressive Pre-Colombian Art Museum. After a nap that afternoon and the free dinner at my hostel, I met up with Taylor again to check out a Jazz club (Thelonius) back in Bellavista. The first act was a combination of a piano player and some electronic music that was eclectic to say the least. The main act of the night, however, was a quintet, led by a violin player (also unique for a Jazz band), that was really great. After picking up some typical Chilean night street food, an Italiano (a hot dog covered in tomatoes, mayo and avocado, like the three colors of the Italian flag), it was back to my hostel for a (relatively) early night (it was only 2 am). The next morning, I woke up and hopped on a walking tour of the "B side" of the city to check out some of it's alternative neighborhoods and it's impressive collection of markets. I left early, however, to meet up with Koen and Sien (you should remember them, we met on my Uyuni tour), who had just arrived in Santiago. We went back to one of those markets to grab a delicious lunch before riding the subway to the outskirts of Santiago, where we caught a minibus to one of the many vineyards around the city, Concho y Toro, the biggest in all of Latin America. We decided to enjoy a bottle of Carmenere, a varietal that's only really grown in the region around Santiago. We then tried to visit another winery, but due to Uber having the wrong address (ugh Uber messes up everything), got lost and ended up running out of time. We then rode the subway back to the center of the city, where we said our goodbyes. It was great meeting up with them again. That night I went back to my hostel to finally relax a bit at the end of the weekend by watching the Wizards even up their playoff series with the Raptors. I finally had a real early evening, as I needed to be up early the next morning for my flight to begin my adventure in Patagonia