Incahuasi, Cachiyuyo and Domeyko organizations close CMP Culture Fund projects

Various groups from three localities of the commune of Vallenar met in Incahuasi to conclude the 2023 Culture Fund promoted by Compañía Minera del Pacífico (CMP), where they exhibited their creations and elaborations, including embroidery, handicrafts, handicrafts and fabrics, all accompanied by a sample of local gastronomy.

For Inés Araya, president of the "Los Años Dorados" senior citizens' club in Incahuasi, developing the "Tejiendo Tradiciones" project with funding from CMP "was a great help, we went crazy, we started to buy clay, wool and little things that we didn't know either because many of them are between 70 and 80 years old and now they are learning to sew. Here there are beautiful things from all the ladies, where each one has her effort and different things... it is something beautiful", she emphasized excited.

For their part, the local group of crianceros rescued their typical ancestral dishes under a slogan that presented delicacies such as churrascas and roasted kid. "We wanted to make a fair where each family could show their products and, at the same time, sell them. Making an extra resource in each locality was very important," added Nule Riquelme, treasurer of the Crianceros de Cachiyuyo Committee.

With a focus on historical value, Luisa Villalobos, president of the Diaguita Community of Cachiyuyo, Mishqui Guintui, highlighted the aims of the "Embroidering History" project. "Our ancestors worked hard doing weaving, embroidery, spinning wool, weaving with cotton, all those kinds of things, and thanks to this project we were able to make a part of it to rescue our Diaguita culture," she said.

In the same way, the religious dance group "Los Canarios" was able to finance a clothing project with the objective of uniforming its members who participate every year in various festivities celebrating the Virgin of Andacollo.

In this context, Andrés Pizarro, CMP's Head of Elqui Valley Territorial Management, said that "we are very pleased with the work that has been developed in this area, since, as the participants themselves have pointed out, it has allowed them to connect with each other, generate links with their cultural identity, with their past, but also generate additional resources for their homes, which is in direct harmony with our purpose of making a different mining with our neighboring communities".

CMP's Culture Fund seeks to highlight the artistic and heritage expression of community and social organizations in the territories near operations such as Mina Pleito. On this occasion, the initiative was supported by the Incahuasi Neighborhood Council No. 15, which, in the words of its president, Verónica Valenzuela, was "a moment of happiness for everyone... to participate, get out of the routine and show art".