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A lovely postcard received a few days ago from Santiago de Chile showing Bellavista Hill in Valparaíso, in central Chile, one of the its most important seaports and the seat of the National Congress of Chile. Since 2003 the Historic Quarter of Valparaíso has been on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
The postage of 310 pesos is covered by a 290 pesos Christmas stamp (issued on 26 November 2010) and a se-tenant duo of definitive stamps from 2008 showing typical Chilean characters, organillero (organ-grinder) and palomita (not sure about this one, heh, maybe popcorn vendor?, my dictionary does not help me:)).
The print-run of the Christmas stamp was 50,000. Out of curiosity, I checked the print-run of the last year's Czech Christmas stamp, which was... 15 million pieces! Mind-boggling difference, especially since the population of Chile is 17 million, and of Czech Rep. 10 million. The explication might be the tradition of sending greeting cards which is very strong here, but still...
Thank you, Hernán, for this beauty!!
1 comment:
Milan: Here in Chile, a "palomita" is a woman who sells different kinds of small cakes. They're pastries filled with blancmange (manjar blanco = dulce de leche)and usually coated in white icing (frosting). In the past, lots of palomitas were seen on train platforms, it's such a nostalgic scene to recall when palomitas (all dressed in white with their baskets) approached your window and offered their "dulces". Now they can be seen at theside of roads in central Chile, selling their pastries to drivers and bus passengers. They always wear clothes such as the one on the stamp.
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