el motemei

I know, I know, almost two weeks with hardly anything, and now two long entries in a single day... But as I was writing my paper for my Spanish Writing class, I thought people at home might find it interesting as well, because it is about a cultural figure of Valparaiso. And so I translated it into English. (If it sounds funny in some places, its because there was no perfect way to translate what I said in Spanish... also, lets just hope that my actual paper is this gramatically correct too. lol)

quick vocabulary-
motemei=type of food made from corn, eaten a lot in the old days in the winter because it was high in calories
motemelero=person who walks through the streets selling motemei. One of a group of people that doesn't really exist anymore, who would go through the streets calling out their product- motemei, fresh milk, etc., usually in a sort of song unique to what they were selling.

p.s. We watched a documentary about him before the break, and then this past Thursday he came to our class to speak... it was pretty cool...






EL MOTEMEI, Defender of Tradition

The short and thin stature of the last motemelero of Valparaiso does not agree with his dynamic personality, but the other parts of his appearance reveal the truth. His eyebrows, which arch above sparkling eyes, are expressive, showing to everyone all of his happiness, sadness, pensiveness, and determination. His clothes are important as well. His shoes, made from old tire, as well as his poncho, which is 150 years old and was used by almost 4 generations before he inherited it, are signs of the motemelero tradition. His plaid shirt, rolled up pants, and traditional rural belt complete the portrait of this worker from another time.

Carlos Martinez Becerra, also known as “the motemei” because of the food that he sells, was born 56 years ago in a street in Santiago, and his grandfather took him later to the hospital in his motemei basket. Therefore, he says, he has his roots in being a motemei seller. He learned his work from his grandfather, who was a third-generation motemolero, and he still continues the tradition today although he has very few clients. He walks through the streets of the “ciudad porteña” [port city- Valparaiso’s nickname], calling out “Motemeeei, pela’o el meelll-o,” announcing his presence to the world and selling his corn product, made fresh that day. The motemelero, also a poet, wants to rescue tradition in a world constantly changing. And he rescues it well. Although he may not be able to sell much, that doesn’t discourage this good-humored and optimistic man, and so he also works in schools, talking about the history of his job and his own history to the young people of Chile. A very extroverted and dynamic person, Carlos loves to speak of his life as a motemelero as well as of the importance of maintaining tradition.

The motemelero of Valparaiso, self-proclaimed “defender of our traditions,” has a unique perspective of the world. To him, everything is a poem—the hills of the city, its people, even its stray dogs. Although it makes him sad to realize that the world is changing and losing the sense of tradition, he has hope for the future. His job is to sell motemei, but his part in the world is to preserve history and point out the beauty of society. In this sense he can be compared to the famous don Quijote, not in insanity, but in his goal of remembering the ideas and practices in past ages in a world that is not always changing for the better. In this, the “motemei” of Valparaiso merits admiration.