Offenbach

Today is Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Chile. This public holiday in Chile takes place on the Winter Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere. Inti Raymi in Quechua, Machaq Mara in Aymara, Huata Mosoj in Colla, WeTripantu in Mapudungun and Xóosink in the language of the Selk’nam are the ways of referring to this day in the different languages.

More than two million Chileans identify as belonging to an indigenous group. Of these, 1.7 million identify as Mapuche, 156,000 as Aymara and 88,000 as Diaguita, the three most numerous indigenous peoples in Chile, according to data from the 2017 census. The Chilean State recognizes the Mapuche, Aymara, Rapanui, Atacameño or Likan Antai, Quechua, Colla, Chango, Diaguita, Kawésqar and Yagán as the main indigenous peoples of Chile.

Mapuche people in Southern Chile

The Dogs of Pride

SIGNS!

Today is the birthday, in 1819, of Jacques Offenbach, German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Franz von Suppé, Johann Strauss II and Arthur Sullivan. His best-known works were continually revived during the 20th century, and many of his operettas continue to be staged in the 21st. The Tales of Hoffmann remains part of the standard opera repertory.

In 1858 Offenbach produced his first full-length operetta, Orphée aux enfers (“Orpheus in the Underworld”), with its celebrated can-can; the work was exceptionally well received and has remained his most played. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU0IyxvcH4E

Today is the Day of Peace and Reconciliation in Mozambique – a public holiday. The holiday marks the official end of the civil war on this day in 1992.

You can often get a sense of the trauma that a country has gone through in its history by looking at its public holidays. In the case of Mozambique, this is especially true with four public holidays charting the country’s long and violent struggle for independence from Portugal. Weapons on the country’s flag might be another indicator.

In 1976, Mozambique was still recovering from the struggle for independence, when the new FRELIMO (The Front for the Liberation of Mozambique) government fought against the opposition RENAMO (Mozambican National Resistance). After ousting the Portuguese, FRELIMO had instigated a one-party Marxist state, which was resisted by the anti-communist RENAMO rebels, supported by the Rhodesian secret service and South Africa’s apartheid-era military.

The war was a devastating conflict that killed an estimated one million people, with 1.7 million Mozambicans becoming refugees in neighboring countries. Though no side was able to win a decisive victory, the change from Marxism to capitalism by the government after the collapse of the Soviet Union, enabled movements towards ending the war. On October 4th 1992, the government and RENAMO signed the General Peace Accord (GPA) in Rome, Italy, officially ending the Mozambican civil war.

Talking to kids…

No good birthdays today but tomorrow marks the death, in 1880, of Jacques Offenbach, the French composer responsible for much wonderful music including the excerpt from his opera, Orpheus in the Underworld, performed here by a delightfully unconventional orchestra. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU0IyxvcH4E

Today is Australia Day, the official national day of Australia. It marks the landing of the first fleet at Sydney Cove and the raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip.

Preschool suggestions:

Well, since I already referenced Offenbach above, here’s a lovely little piece by him.