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Hello Dear Reader:
2025 is shaping up to be an incredible year for me and my work. Not only was I featured in a Chilean TV special last month, but this week, Chile Lindo officially became a San Francisco Legacy Business.
As fate would have it, thirty years ago I stepped into a quaint 10-by-20-foot brick-and-mortar on 16th and Capp, with the words Chile Lindo written across the front windowpane. Literally overnight, I was handed the keys. I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting into, but I dove in.
From that day on, I knew I had an assignment—duty called. I realized that the unique experience of growing up between so many worlds—Chile, South America, New York City, Oakland, San Francisco—and living alongside people from countless walks of life was a privilege. And with privilege comes responsibility. I could meet a need, provide a service, and bridge these polar worlds. I set out to become a brand ambassador focused on Chile. I made it my mission to introduce Chilean products and culture to San Francisco. I had no working capital. No business partners. No budget to hire a professional team. I just had a vision.
At the time, I was promoting an unknown product—who had even heard of empanadas in San Francisco 30 years ago? My location was on a tough corner in the Mission District. My staff? Newcomers from Chile, Uruguay, Mexico, Guatemala—hardworking, but often puzzled by my perfectionism. A customer asking for a “Coke in a bottle” would get coconut water.
It hasn’t been easy. But what creative calling ever is? After 30 years of running a business, I’ve learned to value and respect experience. I’ve learned not to dwell on the problem, but to shift my focus immediately toward a creative solution—and when one doesn’t work, try another. I’ve also learned not to give in to anger. It takes up too much space, lingers too long, and keeps you distracted from what really matters. I learn from others, by observing what to do—and what not to do.
From my experience:
- How do you build a brand? High standards and perseverance.
- How do you beat the odds? With integrity—and always take the high road.
- How do you inspire your team to stay the course? By example.
- How do you avoid bitterness? Forgive.
To follow a vision is to walk a road that often makes you question your own sanity. Just when the frustration threatens to break you, a door opens—presenting a new opportunity that moves you one step forward, restores your balance, and reassures you that you’re on the right track after all. Inspiration kicks in and you’re recharged.
I’ve never doubted the value of my work. However, when I first started out and told customers that Chile Lindo would serve as brand ambassador for Chilean products and culture in San Francisco, they looked at me like I was an empanada vendor suffering from delusions of grandeur. Can you blame them? I don't. Even so, the title on my business card always read: Intercultural Consulting.
There’s still a long way to go before I reach the full vision. But I’m closer now—a lot closer. After all, San Francisco is a culinary and cultural capital!
Today, Chile Lindo is officially part of San Francisco’s history— proclaimed a Legacy Business on May 12, 2025.
I can't close without taking a moment to thank the television host and crew behind Sueño Americano, which aired in Chile on April 19 on Canal 13. The show follows Chileans across the U.S. as they chase their dreams.
The host, Peter Murphy Lewis—an American from Kansas who lived and worked in television in Chile—is known there as El Gringo Peter. He’s now back in the States, chasing his own dreams and hosting Sueño Americano.
Thank you to Peter Murphy, Colomba Films, and Canal 13 in Chile. I’m including the link to the episode on YouTube.
Saludos,
Paula Tejeda
Chile Lindo
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