Why is Chile not ready for the Costanera Center?

New prominent building in the Santiago's skyline, the Gran Torre Santiago, the tallest building in Latin America and second tallest in the Southern Hemisphere with 300 meters, is the symbol of a rich and developed Chile. This giant is part of the fairly impressive Costanera Center, a business and commercial complex that includes a 6-story shopping mall and 4 skyscrapers, including the Gran Torre Santiago. The shopping mall is the largest in South America and has an impressive number of hypermarkets, luxury stores and more than 100 shops.

Once completed, the Costanera Center will have an area of 700,000 m2 and an estimated 240,000 will go to and from it everyday, making an annual estimated gain of $150 million. 7 years after the start of the project, only the shopping mall and the Gran Torre Santiago are finished and the overall cost has already almost doubled to reach $1 billion.

Anyway, Chile is extremely proud of the Costanera Center, has it shows the economical success of the country! Chile is actually the first South American country to be part of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and was ranked as a "high-income economy" by the World Bank. The country is also the ranks first in Latin America in human development, competitiveness, income per capita, globalisation, economic freedom and low perception of corruption, making it one of the most stable and prosperous nations in the region. This stability helps Chile's continual growth, reaching a GDP growth of 4.1% in 2013.

But despite all these numbers, Chile, like most of the Latin American countries, still suffers from big inequities. Even though the official figures from the government state that 11.0% of the population is below the poverty line, making it the lowest in South America, using the relative yardstick favoured in many European countries, 27% of Chileans would be poor, according to Juan Carlos Feres of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Besides, Chile has the highest Gini ratio in the OECD, peaking up to 0.516 in 2013. The Gini ratio measures the inequity in incomes within a nation, 0 being all the population getting the same income, and 1 being only one person getting all the income.

Therefore, Chile might not be ready for the Costanera Center, a better fit in some crazy Emirates than in a Soith American country that still has to develop in a more equitable way!

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Pictures of the Week 13 - Seattle

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Pictures of the Week 12 - Montréal and Vancouver

Since I was a little boy I always wanted to visit Canada for pretty much no reason! At 36 hours of leaving it, here are some pictures of the two cities I visited: one on the East coast (Montréal) and the other on the West coast (Vancouver).

Enjoy!

10 foods and drinks to try in Mexico - 10 plats et boissons à essayer au Mexique - 10 platos y bebidas a probar en México

Mexico has an incredible gastronomy, with an authenticness and a diversity you may hardly encounter somewhere else! From all the folkloric food you can find in Mexico, here is my selection of 10 foods and drinks from what I had the opportunity to try during my stay in Mexico City. There is definitely a lot more to explore!

Provecho!

· Taco al pastor

You shouldn't leave Mexico without trying some tacos! The most popular one is stuffed with pastor, but you can find tacos of suadero, longaniza, res and pretty much every part of the beef (tongue, cheek, brain ...).

Usually the taco al pastor comes with a couple of slices of pineapple, cilantro and onions. Don't forget to add some guacamole and spicy sauce to have a fuller experience!

· Chilaquil

Typical for breakfasts in Mexico, chilaquiles are basically nachos with some sauce on top of them. But nothing is really simple in Mexican cuisine and chilaquiles are definitely a must-try and a good start of the day!

You can have chilaquiles with pretty much anything on top of them, such as a steak for exemple!

· Tamal

An even better start of the day would be to eat some tamales from the street stands that pop out in the morning! Described as the "breakfast of the poors", this dish is nevertheless really solid!

Made basically of corn wrapped into a leaf, you can find pretty much anything in it, so always ask if you are not the suprise kind of person!

· Chapulin

If you don't like insects you can just skip this one! Chapulines are actually quite popular among Mexicans and can be an interesting experience!

Enjoy!

· Mole

Be careful, this dish can be a bomb for your intestines (at least for me it was!). More seriously, this is probably one of the most elaborated dishes in the Mexican cuisine as it can contain more than 100 different ingredients! Nevertheless, there are basically 2 types of mole: the sweet ones and the spicy ones.

You can find mole pretty much everywhere, but if you have the opportunity to go to Puebla, you should definitely try it there!

· Esquite

Corn is pretty much the basis of the alimentation in Mexico. Pretty much everything is made with corn or contains corn! You can for exemple find such iconic Mexican plates like elotes or pozoles made mainly of corn!

Esquite is also made with corn, in a soup, under a serving of mayonnaise, some cheese and of course some chili! It tastes way better than it looks and you can find them in street stands around the city!

· Nieve

If you want to refresh yourself on a hot day, you should go for nieves, that are pretty much like ice-creams but with funny tastes like cheese or mango and chili!

My favourite would be the mango y chamoy nieve! Spicy and refreshing!

· Michelada / Cubana / Gomichelada

After so much spicy food, let's have a look at the drinks that may save your tongue! Mexico has a good number of local beers that you should try, apart the worldwide-known Corona. Some good beers can be Pacifico, Indio or Modelo. But if you want to drink beer the Mexican way, you should ask for a michelada or a cubana (or a Gomichelada if you think you are ready for that!).

The concept is simple! Like with pretty much everything in the Mexican gastronomy, the idea is to mix everything in one drink! In Mexico City, the michelada will only contains fresh lime juice, salt and beer, the cubana will have chili, and the gomichelada will have chili and candies!

· Mezcal

You may have heard of the famous Mexican drink called tequila. Well, the mezcal is like its cousin! This alcoholic drink, made with the same plant as the tequila (the agave) is also very popular in Mexico.

If you don't like insects, you can still enjoy it without a larva!

· Pulque

Probably the most interesting drink you will find in Mexico, pulque is made from fermeted sap of agave and it has a milk color and a viscous consistency. You can have pulques of different flavours, or just natural!

This mesoamerican drink, made for millenials, is definitely a must-try in Mexico!



As you can see, you have plenty of choice other than McDonald's to eat while you are in Mexico! This is only a shortlist of all the things Mexican gastronomy has to offer, so don't hesitate to explore more of this fascinating cuisine!

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Pictures of the Week 11 - New York City

New York, New York! The city of skyscrapers, the city that never sleeps!

Pictures of the Week 10 - Teotihuacán

Teotihuacán, the city where humans become gods, was an extremely important mesoamerican city! Considered holy by the Aztec, Teotihuacán is nowadays an impressive archaeological site!

Pictures of the Week 9 - Mexico City

This week I present to you pictures of the biggest Spanish-speaking city of the world: Mexico City!

PS: I got wet to take those pictures, I hope you'll enjoy them!