Chilean Dance

               The cueca is a traditional Chilean dance and Chile's national dance although not as popular as others nowadays.  It is danced with a man and a woman and they hold a handkerchief which they dance with.  The handkerchief is a way that they communicate without touching and leads to the intensity at the end of the song when they finally link arms.  They dance around one another in a circle and use their handkerchiefs as they dance.
               The cueca became the national dance of Chile under Pinochet because he was trying to use it to his advantage.  However, Chilean women turned it into a form of protest for their murdered loved ones.  They hung pictures of their missing or murdered loved ones around their necks or pinned onto their clothes and did the dance in the streets.  Another example of Chileans using art forms for political protest.  There wasn't much Chileans could do to protest Pinochet without getting killed so this was their solution.
                I thought that this was just a typical dance in Chile.  I did not think that it would be turned into a resistance symbol.  I think that it's amazing how the Chileans turned a simple dance into something that holds such meaning for them and their history.   It was also interesting to learn that salsa is more popular nowadays than the cueca.  The cueca is mainly danced in traditional settings like birthdays and weddings.  It was really cool seeing this dance but I hope I can see it in person in Chile!