Rattling pots and pans

Pinochet wasn't a very nice person. He was fond of doing things like "ruining the economy" and "torturing political opponents" and "killing anybody who disagreed with him." Given a lot of people disagreed with him and a lot of people did not want to die, free speech was practically nonexistent in the country. The department secretary recalls that when people wanted to voice their complaints, they would start banging pots and pans together. It was pretty common to see whole blocks, neighborhoods, half the city take up the cry.

Last night they had a protest, aimed right at the president's office. It was probably the most violent one to date. Over 800 people were arrested. For the record, the one I participated in, with over 200,000 people marching, had... 13. That night, people  once again took up the cry. From every house and apartment complex came the low, fast rattling. People want their education.

(Incidentally, talking about the protests are a surefire way to make people like you. Researchers have been tripping over each other to explain the details of the political situation. When our landlord found out that I went to one he excitedly got me to show him my pictures.)

I wasn't thinking too much of it last night. But when walking to work today I saw this:

Right on the middle of the main road. Looks like they're preparing something big. I've been refreshing a few local news sites but nothing's shown up yet. Whatever it is, I'll be glad to be out of Santiago for the weekend.