Starting September 18, fondas and celebrations take place throughout Chile for Fiestas Patrias 2024. And this year there will be five consecutive days off (if we count the weekend).
Get ready to enjoy fondas, ramadas, family games, parties and an atmosphere of joy that fills the soul and will leave you with stories to tell for a lifetime.
Would you like to experience it? Here we’ll tell you everything you need to know to celebrate like a true Chilean.
Cover photo: Diego Fontecilla – Fich
When is Fiestas Patrias in Chile?
Fiestas Patrias in Chile is celebrated on September 18 and 19. September 20 is an additional holiday if it falls on a Friday, which happens this 2024. This means five consecutive days of celebration!
What is celebrated during Fiestas Patrias in Chile?
During Fiestas Patrias, Chileans commemorate the First Government Junta of 1810, which was a key step in our country’s independence process.
Although Chile’s independence was declared on February 12, 1818, we don’t celebrate Fiestas Patrias on that date for symbolic reasons, which sets us apart from other parts of the world.
Where is Fiestas Patrias celebrated in Chile?
You can celebrate Fiestas Patrias throughout Chile! During this time, fondas and ramadas are set up across the country. There you’ll find food, live music, traditional games, parties and activities to have a great time.
The largest number of fondas take place in Santiago. The most famous is the Parque O’Higgins Fonda, one of the oldest in the country, although there are other important ones like the Parque Padre Hurtado Fonda in the La Reina district.
Outside the capital, one of the most important events is the Fiesta de la Pampilla in Coquimbo, which starts on Monday, September 16 and lasts the entire week. It’s known as the Biggest Festival in Chile for good reason.
What do people do during Fiestas Patrias in Chile?
Dance the cueca
The cueca is Chile’s national dance, with elegant and passionate movements that recreate a flirtation between a rooster and a hen. The soul of Fiestas Patrias, improvised dance floors spring up across the country, where young and old show off their best steps, accompanied by the sound of guitars, tambourines and voices.
Would you like to know more about the cueca? Listen to La Consentida, Chicha de Curacaví and El Guatón Loyola, which are three of the most famous pieces in this genre.
Traditional games
Traditional games evoke Chilean country life. The most famous are emboque, rayuela, the greased pole and sack races, with simple rules and guaranteed laughs.
And since spring is just beginning, many take advantage of Fiestas Patrias to fly their first kites, as they’re known in Chile.
Food and drink
Get ready to enjoy the best traditional Chilean cuisine. During Fiestas Patrias, food is the star of the show: juicy empanadas with meat, olives and egg; anticuchos sizzling on the grill and crispy sopaipillas to lick your fingers.
All of this is accompanied by a sweet chicha that will make you toast to life, a refreshing beer, or a good red wine from our valleys, home to some of the world’s best vineyards.
You can also enjoy the “terremoto”. And we’re not referring to an earthquake, but to a cocktail made with pipeño, a generous scoop of pineapple ice cream and a touch of fernet or grenadine. But be careful, because it lives up to its name and after one or two glasses you’ll feel the ground moving beneath your feet.
