There are a large number of immigrants in Chile – particularly from neighbouring countries like Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. Carla de Flores is one. Originally from Bolivia, she and her husband Martin came to Chile because so that he could study theology at a seminary here. They stayed in Chile for two years.
How would you describe the typical Bolivian woman?
I would say Bolivian women are hard workers wherever they go. They are usually the ones who keep the family home going!
The classic example of courageous Bolivian women is provided by the ones we call ‘the Heroines of Coronilla’. During the Bolivian war of independence, in the early years of the nineteenth century, all the men died fighting the Spanish, and in 1812 these women died defending what is now Cochabamba – with their children on their backs and using spoons and saucepans for weapons! That episode of our history was an important contribution to the important position women hold in our culture today. That battle took place on May 27, 1812, which is the reason why we celebrate Mother’s Day on May 27 in Bolivia.
What it was like to live in Chile for two years? Did it come as a shock?
Our two years in Chile taught me a lot. As a Spanish-speaking woman I thought that that we were all the same – in our customs and so on. So I thought that getting acclimatised would be easy – but it came as a cultural shock. What I found hardest to understand was the many idiomatic expressions that Chileans use when they speak Spanish. Also, the fact that most of the time when you go shopping in the market you have to negotiate with men; here in Bolivia it is the opposite: most of the stallholders are women. So, for example when I went to buy vegetables and they said to me, “What I can get you, love?”, or “ …princess?”, I didn’t know if they were trying to sell me something or flirting with me.
The other awkward thing was that they were always mistaking me for Peruvian and I’m sorry to say that I could tell from the way they treated me that Peruvians are not very welcome in Chile.
While you were there, did you form the kind of deep and lasting friendships?
Yes, by the grace of God, I did. I‘ve got friends in Chile now who are closer than the ones I have here in Bolivia. We keep in contact a lot, praying for each other.
What would you say are the challenges faced by immigrant women and mothers in Latin America?
I think the challenge is in our giving up our own culture and learning to live in a new one for the good of our husband and children. By ‘culture’ I mean those daily things like going to the market and finding things to be unfamiliar: how people eat… customs of greeting people… and just the different ways of doing things.
My prayer would be for immigrant women to be able to form friendships with Chilean women who can help them to understand and live in a culture that is not their own; and for these friendships to be founded on Christ. Because at the end of the day he is the one who unites us and enables us to live together – in spite of our differences.
Is there a verse of the Bible that was particularly significant to you while you were living in Chile?
I was blessed by Psalm 87:7: “They dance and sing, ‘In Zion is the source of all our blessings.’” (GNB)
Actually, I spent a lot of time reading the Psalms but a comment that I heard on Psalm 87 encouraged me because it helped me to see that we are one people in Christ so I felt as though I was at home living in Chile.
Can you share some stories or anecdotes about experiences with other immigrant women in Chile?
There was another mother in my children’s school, a Peruvian woman who had come to work in Chile. I remember at one particular meeting the looks that she and I exchanged when they asked parents to make sure our children took ‘ plumeros’ – feather dusters – to school! When translated by the teacher, they turned out to be what we call the ‘pompoms’ that cheerleaders use!
I’d like to add that at all times I felt at home living in Chile; most of the women that I met, both in church and elsewhere, were very friendly and ready to help me feel welcome and part of their society.