I just saw the Chile episode that was shot in March and I couldn't be more disappointed. As Mr. Fuguet* wrote some days ago, you don't get to see Chile but some really little part of the country, which is not what you expected, of course.

First of all, what is the deal with the coup d'état? Why does it always have to be one of the first things that comes to foreigners' minds whenever they think of Chile? Although the issue is still hot and there's a lot to do in terms of justice and reconciliation, our society is trying to move on and if we're asked what we think when you say "Chile", this certainly is not part of the list. This was not the best way to start the show. However, it was surprising to see a U.S. citizen blaming his government for what happened here.

Secondly, the first part of the show is about Santiago and some typical places such as Fuente Alemana, Café Caribe, and El Hoyo. Yes, we do like lomitos and the food they serve at El Hoyo but we don't eat just pork. I know Mr. Bourdain is a big fan of this type of meat but we also eat some other things, such as chicken and beef, which I didn't see in the program. There was only pork. But this didn't make me feel as angry as the coffee part. Was it necessary to go to a "cafe con piernas"? Gosh, that's horrible! Fortunately, it was Café Caribe, where women still wear clothes. I've never been to those places mainly because of two reasons: I'm not into women and I do hate the way women are treated, as if they were mere objects who are there to serve men— in all ways. It's disgusting. In fact, Mr. Bourdain didn't enjoy that part of the tour for the same reason (I guess reason #1 it's just mine).

Then he went to see rodeo. I strongly oppose to this activity, but it's part of our "traditions"; a sad one, though. Mr. Bourdain had some beef with a wine sauce (I don't know how typical that is) and charquicán, a very representative meal. The only thing is that charquicán is not a variation of mashed potatoes, as he said, but a stew made with potatoes, squash (not pumpkin), ground meat, peas, spinach and some other vegetables that I don't remember now. Anyway, I was glad to know that he ate chaquicán, but that happiness didn't last because I heard the music he used for the show once again: flamenco. FLAMENCO! Did anyone tell him that flamenco is traditional SPANISH music? Did he hear the "ole, ole"? Because I did and I hated it. What happened to cuecas? What could be more representative than that? It's cueca! The national dance. He could have even played a tonada or guaracha, but not flamenco. His crew didn't do a good job here.

Finally, he went to the beach and the south. In Viña del Mar he was taken to a place called Sibarítico, which is all what a completo fan could ever ask for. But that's for us, for the ones who know what completos are and love them, not for a tourist who has never seen a completo before. As he said "12 inches... it's huge!" It really is! He got scared. Why didn't they take him to Dominó? If he had liked them, he would have had another one and then he would have gone to Sibarítico and loved the huge completos there.

This last part made me agree with Mr. Fuguet again: the problem was the company. The people who were with him were not the right ones for they treated him like a tourist, showing him just a small part of the country and the culture.

In the end, the episode made feel sad and confused. He always talked about Chile but he visited Santiago, Viña del Mar, Valparaíso and some place called "Patagonia", but what about the north? What about Arica? Coquimbo? And Putre? Why didn't he go to Temuco or Chiloé when he went to the south? What happened to Iquique? La Serena? Punta Arenas? They're all different cities and they're all Chile. Even Easter Island is Chile and one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Why couldn't he show a complete picture of Chile and talk a little about the culture and how is it present in many different ways within the same country?

I'd like to tell Mr. Bourdain that he's welcome to come back anytime and see Chile from our point of view, visit the places we visit and try all the different foods we eat here. Mr. Bourdain, please, give this country another try and you'll realize that you missed Chile when you came here.

*Aberto Fuguet is a Chilean writer.