With only one day in Santiago, it being impossible to see the whole city, and having had our share of bad or weird museums on this trip, we made it our goal today to have one uniquely Chilean cultural experience. There are few things that I like more than coffee, so the choice seemed pretty obvious when we learned about "cafe con piernas" (coffee with legs). Coffee with legs is an exclusively Chilean phenomenon. It is a coffee bar (really, no alcohol served) where the waitresses wear skimpy clothing and show - well - their legs. We were expecting some kind of a cross between Hooters and Starbucks, so we decided that it would be a good way to start the day. The famous cafe we had been looking for had shut down last year, but a new cafe had opened in it´s place.
What we found when we opened the door (at about noon on a Saturday) did not bear any relation whatsoever to a Hooters or a Starbucks. In fact, the cafe bore a striking resemblance to a strip club (I saw one in a movie once). Neon lights lit the otherwise dark room, mirrors lined the wall and techno played in the background. The "women" (only one of them was definitely a woman) stood in the middle serving coffee. Her attire made Hooters girls look conservative.
According to some, the cafes are part of Chile´s revolt against a strict catholic culture and repressive government... They are open exclusively during the day, serve only coffee, and are frequented by businessmen.
We each ordered espresso, having no idea what exorbitant amount our coffee would cost. The coffee was actually decent (although they put sugar in without asking). We sipped the coffee while we looked around and watched woman/man/beast employee cannoodle with some clients.
When we went to pay for our coffee with legs, we were mentally prepared to drop a hefty sum, but the total came to less than $3 U.S. Not bad for two espressos...
All in all, a very bizarre experience...perhaps the reason it has remained uniquely Chilean.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I kind of can't believe of all things in Santiago, you went to cafe con las piernas. I had forgotten about that chilenismo phenomenon, however, so your entry made me chuckle.
Van a esquiar?? Visitar al puerto en Valparaiso? Did you ride the micros en Santiago? Those are a culture all their own. And how about that smog...?
Write more soon. Me encanta su blog.
We visited Valparaiso, rode the micros in Santiago, and saw the smog as well...had some decent sea food too. None of them really compared in strangeness or noteworthiness to cafe con piernas.
Post a Comment