September 25, 2025

Hello Dear Reader:

First and foremost, ¡Feliz 18! A little belated, but in Chile, las Fiestas Patrias—our Independence Day—are celebrated all month long... with empanadas and wine.🍷 🇨🇱

It’s been a whirlwind of a year, especially since I last published my newsletter ahead of the Empanada Showdown, which took place live at KQED. The event was a hit, and Blanca Torres, producer of KQED Forum, featured an in-depth write-up in her newsletter K Onda KQED.

This edition is full of wonderful updates, and I am deeply grateful to everyone who has invited me to share my work in so many ways. I’ll focus on each opportunity in turn, but to begin, I’d like to highlight a very special visit to Chile Lindo.

On Monday, September 15th, Chile Lindo had the honor of hosting Chilean presidential candidate Harold Mayne-Nicholls, his wife Eugenia Fernández, and a group of Chilean professionals, mostly from the tech sector.

With Chile’s general elections set for November 16, 2025, Mayne-Nicholls is running as an independent with a centrist vision, challenging political extremes and the growing divisiveness in public life. His Bay Area visit focused on exploring the future of artificial intelligence and its impact on society.

Special thanks to Diego Salvatierra, for helping bring this event together at Chile Lindo, and to Marcos and Isabel Gutiérrez for their engaging radio interview on their popular radio show, Hecho en California.

Before I move on, please take note of my upcoming production, included in this newsletter: Cine Chileno in San Francisco: Chile to California – Surfing the Dream Wave. This event will screen two documentaries by filmmaker Rodrigo Farías Moreno, Viejo Perro and El Diario de El Gringo, which highlight the historic surfing connection between Chile and California. Special guests in attendance, Consul General of Chile in San Francisco, Patricio Cabezas Logan, director Rodrigo Farías Moreno and Cecilia Tello, sister of legendary Chilean surf pioneer Lucho Tello, featured in Viejo Perro. Invite friends and family—por favor.

Thank you for being part of this vision—until next time!

Saludos,

Paula Tejeda

Chile Lindo

(left to right) Cecilia Tello, Harold Mayne-Nicholls and Andrea Lira

(left to right) Diego Salvatierra and

Harold Mayne-Nicholls

Take a look at the campaign's Instagram post for more photos here!

© ChileLindo.com 2025

 K Onda KQED

By Blanca Torres

Sep 9, 2025

Bay Area Empanada Makers Celebrate Chilean, Argentine Traditions

Photo: Estefany Gonzalez for KQED

Chile Lindo was featured on Mixtape Travels this month! Huge thanks to Shannon Gomes for an amazing and FUN interview.

Here’s a peek at some of the subjects we touched on: Did you know that if you could lay Chile over a map of the United States, it would stretch from Maine all the way down to Southern California? Or that NASA tested its Mars rovers in the Atacama Desert? British tea time is also a Chilean tradition, and Chileans were eating avocado long before it became “a thing” in California—they even put it on hot dogs!

Did you know that local Esprit founder Douglas Tompkins and his wife Kris Tompkins led the way in creating 17 national parks in southern Chile? —protecting over 2.5 million acres from Puerto Montt to Cape Horn. That Chile’s wine country recalls the early days of Sonoma, and historically, Valparaíso was a hub of global trade before the Gold Rush—the Atherton’s made their fortune there? And today, Chilean wine pioneer Agustín Huneeus and his wife Valeria are the founders of Quintessa Winery in Napa Valley?

We also had a great conversation about wineries to visit in Chile, including Montes Winery, Lapostolle Wines, and VIK Chile. We spoke of the legacy of Spain's renowned Torres family of vintners, highlighting Marimar Torres in Sonoma and her brother Miguel Torres in Chile. The discussion also touched on Pablo Zamora, co-founder of plant-based company NotCo (headquartered in San Francisco), and his new restaurant in Chile's coastline, Nobel Neruda, next to the poet’s museum home in Isla Negra.

The cultural ties between Chile and California run deep—from the Sausalito–Viña del Mar Sister Cities program, established in 1960, to the long history of the Chile California Council, based in the Bay Area.

Of course, empanadas are Chile’s national dish! 🇨🇱

Once again, thank you, Shannon—and Marcia Gagliardi, tablehopper.com—for opening the door to this fantastic opportunity to talk about my favorite subject: Chile.

Here is the link to the podcast: Chile with Paula Tejeda 🇨🇱

Listen to the Gomes Guide on Substack, or catch Mixtape Travels on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

Photo: Claudio Pino

Shani Zhang Storytelling

I am deeply touched by the beautiful way Shani Zhang depicted Chile Lindo, capturing my story in just a few strokes. Currently, she’s working on grants for her story telling projects focused on small businesses. This piece was part of the exhibit Superhyperlocal at The Drawing Room on Valencia Street, that ran from July 26 to September 21. Thank you, Shani, for this memorable work that will now hang proudly on Chile Lindo’s wall. ¡Gracias!

"My art is rooted in this act of listening. Whether I’m capturing a fleeting moment at your wedding or painting a scene from your everyday life, what motivates me is the chance to glimpse a fragment of someone else’s world. The details that strike a chord, so deeply intimate they become universal, are what I translate into paint and paper."--Shani Zhang

visit her website

shanizhang.com

"I always say Chile Lindo picked me.

It was 1995, and I had just come back to SF after lving in Chile and New York.

I was with my ex husband, and we decided to sell sandwiches in the Mission.

Chile Lindo was passed down to us."

"A woman selling empanadas on 16th and Capp, talking about this dream, might come across as delirious.

In Santiago there are empanada shops on every corner and this isn't special."

Note: "The wall full of Chilean art in Paula's shop."

I have survived as a small business for 30 years.

Chile Lindo is now iconic in the Mission, and a San Francisco Legacy Business.

A lot of businesses start with a lot of money, but can they say they've survived for 30 years?

“Food is the initial link to culture.”✨ For decades, @chilelindosf has been weaving together Chilean culture and food into the fabric of the Mission District. Proof that building community and the perfect empanadas go hand in hand🙌 This is their story…"

See all 9 story slides on Instagram post

Univisión Noticias

Gracias, María Antonieta Mejía, por tu fabuloso reportaje sobre Chile Lindo para Univisión Noticias.

Thank you, María Antonieta Mejía, for your fabulous report on Chile Lindo for Univisión Noticias.

Revista de los Jaivas

Flyer by Freddy Agurto Instagram

And I can’t talk about films without reminding everyone that the next Matías Bombal’s Hollywood Orinda Classic Movie Matinee will be John Huston’s The African Queen starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn.

If you’re anything like me and love old-school cinema, you’ll be thrilled to watch this classic on the fabulous Orinda Theatre screen—complete with newsreels and cartoons that will transport you back in time.

Tuesday, September 30, 2025 — 1:00 p.m.

Presented with selected short subjects: newsreel, cartoon, and more!

Hours of entertainment for just $10 — all seats.

Cinema Craft Series hosted by Film Critic, Matías Bombal

"Con las manos en Violeta" by

 Rudith Escobar Iturra

¡Muchas felicitaciones a mis amigas de Agep-V!

Last year, on September 9, 2024, during a Sausalito Special City Council Meeting, Mayor Ian Patrick Sobieski issued a proclamation in honor of Viña del Mar, Chile. The proclamation recognized the city’s ongoing contributions to the Sister Cities Program, highlighting decades of cultural exchange and collaboration.

Among the many activities organized by the Sister Cities’ council was a gallery exhibit titled “Con las manos en Violeta,” showcasing works by eight Chilean artists connected to the program.

I’m especially pleased that the centerpiece of the exhibit—the work that gave the show its name, “Con las manos en Violeta” by Rudith Escobar Iturra—has now found a permanent home on my wall at Chile Lindo.

Viña del Mar holds a special place in Sister Cities history: it was one of the very first Sister City partnerships established in the United States, dating back to 1960.

Congratulations Sunset Piano!

On the 10th anniversary of Flower Piano,

Mayor Daniel Lurie officially proclaimed September 12, 2025, as

Flower Piano Day in San Francisco.

If you’ve been following my newsletter over the years, you know that Flower Piano is my favorite annual San Francisco event—and I’m definitely not the only one who feels this way!

Sunset Piano, founded by Argentine poet and musician Mauro Ffortissimo and filmmaker Dean Mermell, recently celebrated 10 years of collaborating with the San Francisco Botanical Garden to produce the spectacular annual Flower Piano event. This event is living proof that a crazy idea—like placing pianos on the hills of Half Moon Bay—can grow into something magical, bringing local artists together and making people happy.

Mark your calendars! This enchanting event returns every September, and it’s not to be missed.

“WHEREAS, Flower Piano has, since its inception in 2015,

enchanted residents and visitors alike by placing pianos throughout the

Garden’s 55 acres, inviting all to play and listen; and…”

Photo: © Sunset Piano

(left to right) Dean Mermell, Mauro Ffortissimo and Mayor Daniel Lurie