Que Valpo

:part of speech: descriptive phrase. 1. How very eccentric! The collective almost hit a body-painted drummer! Que Valpo! 2. How completely unexpected! Look at those people staging a parade without apparent reason! Que Valpo! 3. How colorful, and yet poorly planned! They’re having an outdoor concert, but the sound system is linked to a non-functioning laptop! Que Valpo! 4. How free-spirited, and yet somewhat irresponsible! We've just had a four hour lunch with drinks, on a weekday! Que Valpo! Etymology: the absolute necessity for a unifying descriptive term for the odd events associated with Valparaíso, Chile. Thought to date from early last week. Derivative of other Chilean exclamations using “que.”

Last night, I was up late working. Specifically, I was trying to put together a PowerPoint that required me to ponder such profound depths of the Spanish language as: Can one truly “amar” a hamburger? If one can’t stand a food, is it best to say that one cannot “tolerar” the offending item, or better “odiar?”

I was pulled from such deeply fulfilling reveries by a sound like shots. Arriving at my window I saw, sparkling above the coastline, a fireworks display. I checked my watch. The time was about 12:45 at night, on a Sunday.

I expected the show to stop after one or two explosions—maybe someone had randomly decided to set a few off in their yard, or some such thing. But the displays grew larger and more complex. Heart shapes appeared, mixed in with circles and color-changing cascades. The water in the bay glowed pink and green, and flickering white. The odd extravaganza ended slightly past 1am.

In theory, fireworks are meant to entertain an appreciating crowd, or at least such has been my impression. I certainly enjoyed the display. However, I somehow doubt that many people were expecting, or awake for, an unexplained show of fireworks in the middle of the night on Sunday, November 9.

This is the sort of thing that happens regularly in this city, and yet it never fails to baffle me just a little. Recent examples include a belly dancing concert in the square, a memorial service put on (with parade, of course) by the carabineros in honor of the fallen of a several-year-old tragedy in the south, a drum concert staged in an unblocked-off intersection, a protest involving adults dressed up like small children, and a solemn procession of people in witch costumes.

I am a teacher. I have always been told that when teaching, it is the students who care who make it all worthwhile. I'll come back to my dubious relationship with teaching at another time, but I haven't found this to be true. Perhaps there aren't enough of those students, or perhaps they don't care enough. Whatever the reason, I think my students are great people and I enjoy my relationship with them. This does not, however, make me feel compensated for the extreme amount of effort that goes in to teaching a mandatory subject on a tight curriculum. The "teachable moments" are nice, sure. But if you really want to get me glowing and feeling like it's all worth it in the end, there's nothing like an unexplained marching band or a drunken digirido player to make my day.

I finished my PowerPoint, and I'll be using it this week. But I know that it won't be the student who learns to recite "I'm crazy about lasagna" who will make my lack of sleep par for the course. No, I'm already satisfied, because what other city congratulates you for a boring task completed by setting off a round of fireworks, any time of day?

Que Valpo, que bueno, how wonderful to live in a city as eccentric as I am.