Map the ethnic and religious diversity of your country and then map the diversity of media channels available. Who speaks and who is silent? Why?

Introduction

To best describe the ethnic and religious diversity of Chile, ill have to go a little back

in time, and describe the indigenous groups that were living in the land before the

Spaniards arrived, it is also appropriate to mention that the 1st European to set foot on

Chile, was in fact a Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan who landed at Chiloé

Island following his voyage, in 1520, through the strait that now bears his name. The

region was then known to its native population as Tchili, a Native American word

meaning "snow.

When the Spanish conqueror Pedro de Valdivia arrived to Chile in 1541, he founded

Santiago, which remains the capital of the country, there were different indigenous

groups that had different ways of living and cultures, and they adapted and survived

depending on the climate and the geography of their surroundings. Following the

geography from north to south I can describe:

The Aymaras: They lived in the high plains. Their economy was based in agriculture

and foraging.

The Atacameños: One of the groups more

developed in the north of the country,

together with the “Diaguitas”, they

established specially in the mountain valleys

between Arica and San Pedro de Atacama.

The Changos: Fishers and nomads, they

traveled the coast between Arica and

Copiapo, they travelled in boats made of

inflated seal skins.

The Diaguitas: The specialized in agriculture

and in the pottery art, they lived between the

Copiapo Valley and Santiago.

The Incas: even though the Incaican Empire was more related to Peru, in their thirst

for power, ventured into Chilean lands, around 1470, and they occupated almost half

the country, where they encountered the Mapuches, decisively defeated them into

crossing into the Lake District.

The Mapuches (Araucanioans): they were warriors, without doubt the biggest

resistance to the Spanish arrival, they lived between the River Itata and Tolten, they

were agriculturers and they were divided in smaller clans the Picunches, Mapuches

and Huilliches.

The Chonos, Kawaskar and Yamanas: Fishing nomads, they lived and moved

around the Occidental Patagonia.

The Polynesian: People ho inhabited the Isla de Pascua, or better known as the Easter

Island.

Chile’s Origins and Ethnic Backgrounds

Chile's official language is Spanish. The two main ethnic groups are white and

mestizo, which composed 94 percent of the population. Mestizo is a mix of European

and Native American peoples. The Native American population composed 3 percent

of the population. Some of the indigenous populations still use native languages,

mainly the Araucanian language. Indian groups are largely concentrated in the Andes

in northern Chile, in some valleys of south-central Chile, and along the southern

coast.

The largest ethnic group in Chile arrived from Spain and the Basque regions in the

south of France. Estimates of the number of descendants from Basques in Chile range

from 10% (1,600,000) to as high as 27% (4,500,000).

Since Independence and throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, new groups of

European immigrants arrived in Chile, principally being from: Spain, France England,

Italy, Germany, Croatia, Netherlands, Russia, Greece, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland,

Armenia, Poland, Hungary, Portugal, among other countries. All of these immigrant

groups had an important social, cultural, and economic impact on the country. The

immigrant communities were distributed throughout the territory. Thus, those of

German origin have a great influence in the regions of Araucanía, Los Ríos, and Los

Lagos; Croatians in the cities of Antofagasta and Punta Arenas; and the British in

Santiago, Punta Arenas, Valparaíso, and in other coastal cities due to their close

relationship with the Chilean Navy.

Although the majority of European-origin immigrants came from Western Europe,

there exist certain communities of smaller significance whose members come from

Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, arriving in Chile primarily to escape persecutions

against them during the first half of the 20th century. Those immigrants coming from

Eastern Europe were principally Jews arriving in the mid-20th century and coming

from the Soviet Union, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and the former nations of

Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia. They arrived in Chile escaping Nazism and

Communism between the 1930s and 1950s.

In the same way, some immigrants from the Caucasus, principally from Armenia,

established themselves in Chile during the first decades of the 20th century due to the

ethnic cleansing carried out by the Ottoman Empire in some Eastern areas of Turkey,

Syria, and Lebanon.

Other historically significant immigrant groups include: Croatia whose number of

descendants today is estimated to be 380,000 persons, the equivalent of 2.4% of the

population. Over 700,000 Chileans may have British (English, Scottish and Welsh)

origin. 4,5% of Chile's Population., Chileans of Greek descent are estimated 90,000 to

120,000. Most of them live either in the Santiago area or in the Antofagasta area.

Chile is one of the 5 countries with the most descendants of Greeks in the world. The

descendants of Swiss add 90,000, an estimated that about 5% of the Chilean

population has some French ancestry, and 600,000 to 800,000 Italians. Other groups

of European descendants have followed, but are found in smaller numbers. They did

transform the country culturally, economically and politically.

European immigration, and to a lesser degree from the Middle East, produced during

the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries large "waves" in America. After

the Atlantic coasts of the Southern Cone (that is, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil),

Chile was the most significant Latin American destination and was favoured mainly

by the intense traffic through the extreme south of the country until the opening of the

Panama Canal in 1920, although other groups came from Argentina across the

Cordillera.

It is estimated that near the 5% of the Chilean population is of Asian origin

immigrants descendant, of the Middle East (i.e. Palestinians, Syrians, Lebanese and

Middle East Armenians), are around 800,000. Israelis, both Jewish and non-Jewish

citizens of the nation of Israel may be included. Chile is home to a large population of

immigrants, mostly Christian. Roughly 500,000 Palestinian descendants are believed

to reside in Chile.

In recent years, Chile had a growing East Asian population: considerably from China

(see Chinese Chilean), a more recent wave from Japan and South Korea (see Koreans

in Chile). The earliest wave of East Asian immigration took place in the late 19th and

early 20th centuries, mainly Chinese and Japanese contract labourers. There are less

than 100,000 East Asians in Chile, about one percent of the population.

Chile administers Easter Island a territory 4,100 km west of the mainland. The Rapa

Nui people are native to the island and are Polynesian in origin. About 3,500 live on

the island, but 10,000 more came to the mainland in the 20th century. The Rapa Nui

people fought to obtain self-autonomous government in Easter Island with success.

There is a sizable population Gypsies in Chile. They are widely and easily recognized,

and continue to hold on to their traditions and language and many continue to live

semi-nomadic lifestyles travelling from city to city and living in small tented

communities.

Religious Groups

70 percent of the population over age 14 identify as Roman Catholic and 15.1 percent

as evangelical. The term "evangelical" referred to all non-Catholic Christian churches

with the exception of the Orthodox Church (Greek, Persian, Serbian, Ukrainian, and

Armenian), the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), Seventh-day

Adventists, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Approximately 90 percent of evangelicals are

Pentecostal. Wesleyan, Lutheran, Reformed Evangelical, Presbyterian, Anglican,

Episcopalian, Baptist, and Methodist churches are also present.

Groups that constitute less than 5 percent of the population include Jehovah's

Witnesses, Mormons, Jews, Orthodox Christians, Muslims, Baha'is, Buddhists, and

members of the Unification Church. Of those surveyed, all other religions total

493,147 persons, or 4.4 percent, and atheists and those "indifferent" regarding religion

constitute approximately 8.3 percent.

Indigenous people make up 5 percent (780,000) of the population. Sixty-five percent

of indigenous people identify themselves as Catholic, 29 percent as evangelical, and 6

percent as "other." Mapuche communities, constituting 87 percent of indigenous

citizens, continue to respect traditional religious leaders (Longkos and Machis), and

anecdotal information indicates a high degree of syncretism in worship and traditional

healing practices.

Members of the largest religious groups (Catholic, Pentecostal, and other evangelical

churches) are numerous in the capital and are also found in other regions of the

country. Jewish communities are located in Santiago, Valparaíso, Viña del Mar,

Valdivia, Temuco, Concepción, La Serena, and Iquique (although there is no

synagogue in Iquique). Mosques are located in Santiago, Iquique, and Coquimbo.

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and other laws and policies

contributed to the generally free practice of religion. The law at all levels protects this

right in full against abuse, either by governmental or private actors.

Church and state are officially separate. The 1999 law on religion prohibits religious

discrimination; however, the Catholic Church enjoys a privileged status and

occasionally receives preferential treatment. Government officials attend Catholic

events and also major Protestant and Jewish ceremonies.

Print Media

El Mercurio - conservative daily

La Tercera - daily

La Nacion - government-owned daily

La Segunda - conservative evening daily

Diario Financiero - business daily

Santiago Times - English-language

Most press activity occurs in the central valley of Chile, particularly in Chile's largest

city, the capital Santiago. In 1996, the dailies range from nationally distributed and

high quality newspapers to small-town tabloids. These newspapers are distributed

between four and seven times per week. Distribution ranges from as much as 300,000

copies for El Mercurio (in its Sunday edition) to 3,000 copies of a regional paper.

Chile's capital, Santiago, has nine major newspapers with a combined daily

circulation of approximately 479,000. The circulation of local dailies in the regions

outside Santiago was approximately 220,000. Assuming an average readership of

three persons per newspaper, total readership countrywide could be estimated at more

than 2 million readers per day.

Nearly all towns with populations of 50 thousand or more had newspapers that

focused on local news and events. Apart from the publications of Chile's two

newspaper chains, there were approximately 25 other independent regional dailies.

These had a small circulation within their towns. One of the most important regional

dailies was Concepción's El Sur , with a circulation of approximately 30 thousand.

Other important and widely read periodicals were the non dailies that appeared two to

four times per month and were published for a nation-wide readership. The biweekly

newsmagazine, Ercilla had an approximate circulation of 12 thousand. Other

nondailies with relatively large circulations were the three business-oriented monthly

magazines, America Economía, Capital, and Gestión. The two popular magazines,

Cosas and Caras were biweeklies with Life magazine format. They published

interviews with popular stars and athletes, as well as political interviews of national

and international interest. Other widely-read publications in Chile included the

following weekly and monthly magazines: El Siglo, the Communist Party's official

weekly publication; Punto Final, a biweekly publication of the extreme-left group

Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionario (Revolutionary Left Movement); Paula, a

women's magazine; Mensaje, an intellectual monthly magazine published by the

Jesuits; and several sports and TV/motion picture magazines. Circulation information

was not available for these non-dailies.

El Mercurio-chain also published two other widely read dailies, the mass-oriented,

Las Últimas Noticias and El Mercurio's afternoon supplement, La Segunda.

According the official statistics by the United States Department of State, the daily El

Mercurio attracted conservative audiences.

The second media chain was Consorcio Periodístico de Chile (COPESA), owned by

Alvaro Saieh, Alberto Kasis, and Carlos Abumohor. COPESA published the news

daily La Tercera for national distribution. La Tercera was a Santiago-based national

newspaper with a daily circulation of about 250,000. The highest daily readership in

Chile. El Mercurio competes with COPESA's La Tercera for newspaper readers.

COPESA also publishes three other periodicals for national distribution: the popular

magazine, La Cuarta; the free daily tabloid, La Hora; and the newsweekly, Qué Pasa,

which offered political analyses of current events. Qué Pasa has an approximate

circulation of 20 thousand readers. COPESA created sites on the Internet for its

publications. The publisher also had affiliations with smaller-scale print and digital

publishers. One such affiliation was with the digital company that produced

"RadioZero," a music Internet site for younger audiences.

Most dailies are printed in Spanish, but there are a few foreign language dailies. There

are also several English-language economic and financial newspapers published in the

metropolitan centre of Santiago. These are The News Review, published twice a

week, and the daily Santiago Times. One of the longest running magazines in Chilean

history, Revista Católica, has circulated since the nineteenth century. Mensaje, an

intellectual monthly magazine published by the Jesuits, has a nation-wide readership.

During the military dictatorship, Pinochet increased the role of the Catholic Church.

He established a strong public relationship with Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz,

who also delivered Pinochet's resignation letter of his senator-for life post. Pinochet's

public relationship with the Church was perhaps intended to divert attention from

accusations of human rights violations during his dictatorship.

Since independence (except during years of military dictatorship), Chilean press

reflected a strong political orientation and represented the political interests of the

conservatives, liberals, ultra-rights, and ultra-lefts. In the nineteenth century, El

Independiente represented the interests of the conservative party and La Republica, of

the Chilean Liberal Party.

Nearly all political parties have their own Internet site. They also publish pamphlets

and small-scale periodicals to promote their political ideologies, strategies, and

candidates. Most politically active groups regularly use the mainstream media to

promote their policies and ideologies. Some of these political groups and their

publications are: the Communist Party (legalized in Chile in 1990) which publish El

Siglo on a weekly basis; and the ultra-left group, Movimiento de Izquierda

Revolucionario (Revolutionary Left Movement), which publishes the bi-weekly Punto

Final. The center-left group, the Concertación (Concerted Action) a coalition of

Socialists, Communists, and some factions of the Christian Democratic The most

prestigious daily, El Mercurio, has both a morning and an evening edition. Its largest

sales came from the Sunday edition with a distribution in 2002 of 300,000 copies. El

Mercurio was considered the right-wing/conservative paper for middle-aged and up

audiences. La Tercera seemed to appeal to popular and younger audiences.

Broadcast Media

National Television of Chile - TVN is owned, but not funded, by the state, and it

functions independently from it; a very particular case of public television in South

America. A board of directors, appointed by the President of the Republic and later

ratified by the Senate, oversees control over the station

TV Universidad Catolica de Chile (Canal 13) - owned by Catholic university,

sometimes the channel is regarded as conservative and right-wing. Its owned by

Andronico Luksic, one of the richest man in Chile

Chilevision – private On August 28, 2010, it was announced that Turner Broadcasting

System, Inc., a TimeWarner company had reached an agreement to purchase it. These

assets do not include the analog television channel frequency which is still owned by

Universidad de Chile

Megavision – Private, owned by Ricardo Claro, billionaire and South American

industrialist who was a leading force in Dictator Augusto Pinochet's successful efforts

to lure American investment back to Chile in the 1970s.

Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso (UCV) - owned by Catholic university of

Valparaiso, only covers the metropolitan and 5th region.

Red TV - Is a private TV channel in Chile. Owned by Mexican businessman Remigio

Ángel González. Previously called La Red (The Network), it mainly

airs Hollywood blockbusters (especially in primetime). It is also the TV station that

broadcasts the local version of the reality TV show "Big Brother".

Chile has many radio and television broadcast stations, as well as an increasing

number of Internet users Chile has at least 180 AM and 64 FM radio broadcast

stations. There is an average of 5.18 million radios. Chile has five main national

broadcast television networks. All of them, including the state-owned but autonomous

National Television (TVN), are self-supporting through advertising. Television

broadcasting stations in Santiago are Channel 4, La Red; Channel 5, Universidad

Católica Valparaíso (UCV); Channel 7, Televisión Nacional (TVN); Channel 9,

Megavisión; Channel 11, Chilevisión; Channel 13, Corporación de Televisión de la

Universidad Católica; and the UHF television station Gran Santiago Television,

Channel 21.

Programming depends heavily on foreign series and movies. Dubbed cinema and TV

products from the United States predominated. However, Mexican, Venezuelan,

Brazilian, Argentine, and Japanese material can also be seen. Locally produced news,

magazine shows, variety shows, and soap operas were of high quality and attracted

large prime-time audiences.

Cable television reaches an estimated 1.900.000 households in Chile, 51 percent of

them in Santiago. Most homes and apartment complexes, particularly in Santiago, are

hooked up to receive cable. For some renters, access to cable is included in the

monthly rent payments. Two major cable systems, Metropolis-Intercom and VTR-

Cabled, enjoy near monopoly status in the business as they provided cable services to

95 percent of the country. Both cable companies rebroadcast all local stations, as well

as major international channels from the United States, Italy, France, Germany,

Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.

U.S. programs offered to Chilean audiences included Cable Network News

International (CNN International), Music Television (MTV), Turner Network

Television (TNT), Worldnet, the Sports cable network (ESPN), Cartoon Network,

Home Box Office-Olé (HBO Olé), and Maximum Service Television (MSTV).

MSTV is a forty-five-year old national association of local television stations

dedicated to preserving and improving the technical quality of free, universal,

community-based television service to the public.

Radio is a prime source of current news to millions of Chileans, and the national

networks devote large budgets to maintaining professional news staff. The number

one national network in the metropolitan area of Santiago was Radio Cooperativa

(760 AM and 93.3 FM). Two other news radio stations were Radio Chilena (660 AM

and 100.9 FM) and Radio Agricultura (570 AM and 92.1 FM). The major musical and

commercial FM radio stations were Rock y Pop, Pudahuel-La Radio de Chile,

Corazón, Romántica, and Activa.

Radio

Radio Cooperativa - news-based, national, private network

Pudahuel FM - private

Bio Bio La Radio - private network

El Conquistador FM - private network

Radio Horizonte - music-based, private network

Conclusion

The Ethnic groups in Chile are not very varied, as the statistics shows us, most of the

population are “mestizos” or mixed South American people with Europeans. It is a

shame that the very few remaining indigenous people in Chile, are some how

discriminated, they have difficulties finding jobs, and mixing with the rest of the

population, many of these cultures have almost disappeared, their languages lost, it’s

a real shame, because in fact, they were the only indigenous who were able to stop the

Incas, and fight the Spanish conquest for more than 300 years. Because of the

Spanish, most of the population is catholic, but I must say that very few maybe half of

the 90% actually practises it, my parents are both catholic, but we never went to mass

or prayed, i was not baptised because my parents thought, I should decide which

religion I would want to follow when old enough. The religion in Chile seems a thing

of the past, and new generations are more open minded, and pay little attention to the

trivialities of Church. Finally about the media, y can conclude that even if we don’t

completely feel European because of our ancestry, we definitely have European

culture, the biggest companies in Chile are still owned by Spanish corporations, the

TV programme is largely based on European and North American copycats, there is a

lack of programs that remind us of our traditions and culture, and the media s plagued

with celebrity gossip and soup operas. Since Chile returned to democracy, the flow of

information is some how free, there is no evident manipulation of news, although one

can see in the different media outlets which ones are more or less conservative. But

then again it befalls on us to make the choice from which source we want to be

informed.

Word Count: 3,092

References

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http://www.joshuaproject.net/countries.php?rog3=CI

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http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108518.htm

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ci.html

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1981.htm#

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/07/

AR2008110703652.html

The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Latin America and the Caribbean. 2nd ed.

Chilean Television and Human Rights Discourse: The Case of Chilevisión (Kristin SorensenDepartment of Communication and CultureIndiana University)

http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Chile.html

http://www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/r27020/id27.htm

http://www.biografiadechile.cl/

Breve Historia de Chile, Sergio Villalobos