I have always enjoyed traditional dances from square dancing to English country dancing and this style was very interesting to me. It was a lot like square dancing but with a spanish flair.
The Cueca is The traditional chilean dance and all students are taught it in school at an early age. It's roots are in Spain. The man wears the chilean cowboy (huaso) costume with the typical Chilean cowboy hat (chupalla)  with a flat wide brim, leather boots with  spurs, and the manta (poncho).



 The ladies wear the colorful dresses with a wide ruffled skirt. They also have white handkerchiefs which they wave around during the dance. The dance is supposed to be an imitation of the rooster courting the hen.

Sunday, Sept. 14, after Mass, in La Picada, they had a Fiesta Patria for the upcoming Chilean Independence day.

Beautiful constumes! The ladies on the right and left in pink and blue are wearing the country girl dresses. The elegant ladies in the middle in the tan outfits are wearing the more traditional formal attire with heavy spanish influence. I love the hats and the ruffles!

Here is a great link to a sight that talks about huasos(chilean cowboys).

http://www.speakinglatino.com/huaso-chilean-cowboy/

And here is our video from La Picada