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The Patagonian Rebel Flag

by Sarah Anderson

You may not be aware of it, but for many locals you are no longer in Chile. You are in the Independent Republic of Magallanes. Many travelers will have noticed the attractive Magallanes flag on jackets and bags, on local produce, painted on houses, hung outside public buildings and, of course, on the ubiquitous car sticker. Magallanes is still part of Chile but it is one of only two regions (Atacama being the other) that has its own flag.

This flag was officially adopted in September 1996 as well as a coat of arms, a rosette, and a regional hymn. The ñirre tree, the calafate flower and the ñandu were also chosen as symbols to represent the region. Although the flag is flown most days in public places and buildings, it must be officially flown on September 21 (when the Strait of Magellan was claimed by Chile in 1843), September 29 (when Patagonia was incorporated into Chile in 1554) and on the Regional Day celebrated on October 21.

So why is there a regional flag? Is there a serious separatist movement among the rebellious Magallanicos? The flag is hugely popular with the people of Magallanes, but perhaps it is more a representation of regional pride rather than a symbol of regionalist separatism. Interestingly the Facebook group “Republica Independiente de Magallanes,” with more than 5,000 members, appears to be a mainly nostalgic site for Magallanicos now living elsewhere, rather than a hotbed of activism.

When asked, friends and acquaintances from the region unanimously declared themselves to be first and foremost Magallanicos. There is definitely a regionalist spirit with which most locals identify. During the Pinochet era the region was kept in geographical and communicational isolation, and this helped to create a distinct identity. Another factor is the proximity of Argentina and the fact that Magallanes shares many more cultural similarities with the neighboring region of Santa Cruz than with the rest of Chile.

Many Magallanicos feel that the region has been ignored by the decision makers in Santiago (although perhaps many other regions watching the daily news will share this sentiment). Flights to the region are the most expensive in continental Chile, and the goods and petrol/gas are the most costly. Magallanicos, many descended from immigrants from all over the world, have worked hard to create what is one of the most prosperous regions in Chile and they rightly feel proud of this achievement and somewhat slighted by the nortinos (northerners) who laugh at their sing-song way of speaking and funny expressions. Magallanicos are well-known for their solidarity with others, whether this is a gringo with a flat tire or a gaucho hitching to his estancia. This solidarity can be seen at its best in November when the region will engage in a massive fundraising frenzy to raise money for the local rehabilitation centers in Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales.

So a separate republic seems unlikely in the near future, but without a doubt the flag will continue to be flown and seen not only throughout Chile, but also--by judging from how popular it is with tourists--all over the world.

Letter From the editor

-Rustyn Mesdag

As a modern-day outdoor enthusiast I, like many others, collect other people’s litter from the trail and campsites, putting it in one of the unused outside pockets of my pack. ‘Leave the trail better than how you found it.’ But even the most enthusiastic trekker takes pause when presented with the idea of picking up somone else’s dirty toilet paper.

Maybe I’ve spent so much time outdoors that some things are just common sense to me. But I am constantly re-surprised by people. I don’t even know who these people are, I don’t know where they come from and I’ve never actually seen them. We know they exist because we find their tracks. But I’m not talking about cool puma tracks, I’m referring to the traces left behind by the toilet paper people.

WTF? Who thinks it’s okay to poop and pee directly on the trail? To leave a few soiled, crumpled TP balls, right there, unburied for the rest of us to enjoy? Really? Who does that? Who in their right mind, on vacation in nature, thinks it is acceptable to litter--not only garbage, but--used toilet paper?

Early this month I did the W trek in Torres del Paine with my 9-year-old son, Noah. The little dude trekked the W like a man. Adult pace, with a ‘roll up your sleeves and get involved’ attitude. We hung out at camp, sat in our down jackets outside our tent, drank hot drinks out of our camp mugs and talked about camp things. Some less important stuff, like ‘would you rather be a puma or a lion?’ And some things a bit more important, like ‘if we got lost and had to sleep a night outside, what would we do?’ Then he asked if he should pick up soiled toilet paper on the trail. When I said, ‘no, don’t pick it up,’ he gave me a confused (but relieved) look.

As we trekked for five days, we encountered countless toilet paper gardens on the trail. From afar, they almost seemed like little white flowers. Except they weren’t. What amazed me more than the fact that people must think littering their spent TP is a normal practice, was the fact that there was no measuable amount of other trash on the trail--only toilet paper!

So, what’s happening here? People know better than to leave garbage behind on the trail, but are for some reason grossed out by toilet paper and don’t know what to do with it. Maybe the whole leave-no-trace (especially not your used toilet paper) practice is not as common sense as we thought it was. Maybe we need to go over this for everyone.

How do we poop and pee and dispose of toilet paper on the trail?

For many unexperienced trekkers, pooping in the woods seems nerve-wracking, but there is no cleaner place to poop than in nature and you can’t beat the views. Human waste, however, is a major cause of pathogens including giardia, campylobacter, hepatitis and other diseases. For this reason we want to dispose of our waste in a way that keeps it from spreading throughout the ecosystem and in a way that speeds up its decomposition. Burying poop waste and TP is the second best solution (second only to packing it out to a proper waste-treatment facility).