Gentle llamas in the Andes and voracious piranhas in the Amazon;
empanadas in Argentina and ceviche in Peru; soft alpaca sweaters, grimacing tribal masks and ornate wall hangings; romantic ballads that soften the spirit and award-winning movies that depict lives that can be violent and cruel.
South America is a continent of contrasts, so it follows that entertaining with a Latin flair can challenge the imagination.
The following is a list of some of the places in the Chicago area that can help you add a South American flavor to your party or to your life.
– Rent a llama, a rhea or some parrots for a few hours of entertaining from Animal Kingdom, 2980 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Owner Bernie Hoffmann will rent out almost any kind of animal. ”For a truck, two men and the llama, it`s about $125 for an hour or two. If it`s nice outside, the llama can pull a little wagon with people,” he says.
– Turn the lights out and watch a South American movie, rented from Facets, 1517 W. Fullerton Ave., which has an extensive collection of foreign films.
”We`re unique. We have focused our collection on the better foreign films, no garbage,” says Aaron Helfman, video sales manager.
Facets has a 112-page catalogue of all its films, plus a 36-page catalogue of just its European and fine arts films. Some of the most popular South American films are ”Black Orpheus”; ”Bye Bye Brazil”; ”Gabriela”; ”Pixote”; ”Kiss of the Spider Woman”; ”Official Story”; and ”Lady on the Bus.” Rentals (all VHS) generally cost $3.50 for members and $5 for non- members.
Other South American films, such as Argentina`s ”Camila” and Brazil`s
”Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands,” are available at Video Adventures, 1926 Central St., Evanston, and other locations, which also now has the classic
”Flying Down to Rio,” starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
– For a bigger screen, try the 23d Chicago Film Festival, which this year has a Latin American section. The festival continues through Nov. 2 at the Music Box and Biograph 1 and 2 theaters. Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela are among the countries represented. For information on schedules, call 644-3400. – Stock your aquarium with a few piranhas. They`re very common in the Amazon basin and can be yours for $3.98 from the Park View Pet Store, 2222 N. Clark St. Just don`t dangle your toes in the tank.
Park View also sells guinea pigs, also South American natives. They are considered a delicacy on the dinner table for many South Americans, but are gentle children`s pets in this country. They range from about $19 for the short-haired variety to $45 for a long-haired Peruvian. Life expectancy is about seven years, so this is a pet that becomes one of the family.
– Hoist a few glasses of South American wine. Chalet Wine & Cheese Shop, with several Chicago and suburban locations, carries cabernets and chardonnays from Chile and Argentina. In the western suburbs, Sav-Way Liquors carries a limited selection of wines from Chile.
”They`re inexpensive, primarily about $5, and good for the money,” says Chalet wine buyer Barbara Herman. ”The reds tend to be lean and hard and the chardonnays are clean, nice and easy to drink and not too complex. They continue to sell quite consistently all the time.”
Several other Chicago stores have Chilean and Argentine wines, including Bragno World Wines, 40 E. Walton St.; Sam`s Wine Warehouse, 1000 W. North Ave.; Zimmerman`s, 213 W. Grand Ave.; and the Weinkeller, 6417 W. Roosevelt Rd., Berwyn.
– Put together a South American meal. Several food stores have ingredients and foods from South America.
La Unica Food Mart, 1515 W. Devon Ave., carries several South American wines and also prepares foods that you can take home to eat. Although many of the dishes are Cuban, foods from Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico are often available. The Latin American grocery store also has a little cafeteria in the back for in-store eating.
El Mercado Food Mart, 3767 N. Southport Ave., carries South American meats and prepares chimichurri and empanadas on the premises.
Also check out G&G Spanish American Grocery, 311 Waukegan Ave., Highwood, and Supermercado Maria Cardenas, 3922 N. Sheridan Rd.
– Get into the Latin beat. ”We`ve got four bins filled up with records from Brazil,” says Ted Gray, salesman at Rose Records, 214 S. Wabash Ave.
”From Argentina, there`s quite a variety of excellent tango music. And Astor Piazzola is a popular accordion player from Argentina.”
The largest selection, however, is from Brazil, Gray says. ”It`s a huge country, and they have everything from the samba, jazz, rock, African-influenced music and easy listening.” Gray mentions singers Tom Jobim, Jorge Ben, Milton Nascimento and Gal Costa, whom he describes as ”sort of a Brazilian Barbra Streisand.”
For dance music, look for records labeled salsa or tropicale, the Caribbean-flavored Latin sounds popular in Colombia and Venezuela. Of course, there`s also samba, tango, cha-cha and rhumba.
– For decorating and accessorizing with a South American touch, or shopping for Latin gifts, you`ll find several shops to fill the bill.
Exotica in the form of tapestries, tribal masks and wooden dolls from South America can be found at Eye on Design, 35 S. Washington St., Hinsdale.
”We have fantastic tapestries from Peru, and dolls and masks,” says owner Lavinia Tackbary. ”The Indians make them. And, of course, fantastic wool scarves from Ecuador; you can use them over your coat. Or in the evening, when it`s warm and you want something for the air-conditioning, they`re nice just over the shoulder. Some of them are 3 yards long.”
Many tapestries, scarves and ponchos have designs that tell stories. Prices range from $30 for a basket from Ecuador to $800 for a large tapestry from Colombia.
Mexican Folk Arts, 2433 N. Clark St., carries jewelry, wall hangings and other artifacts from South America (as well as Mexico, as the name implies), in addition to clothing.
Pavo Real, in Water Tower Place, is a boutique specializing in clothing and accessories from Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and other Latin American countries. The name of the shop means ”peacock” in Spanish, and you can spend from $65 to $225 on a handmade or handloomed sweater to make you feel as glorious as that many-colored bird.
At Gimcracks, 1513 Sherman Ave., Evanston, colorful Peruvian cloth wall compositions called arpilleras depict humorous scenes. The store also stocks Bolivian hats as well as textiles and weavings that can double as accents or runners on your buffet table.
– If it`s books you want, there are several on the bookshelves of Kroch`s & Brentano`s, Waldenbooks and other Chicago booksellers.
”Eight Feet in the Andes” (Overlook Press, $16.95) is the sometimes incredible account of a four-month, 1,300-mile journey through the Peruvian Andes taken by author Dervla Murphy and her 9-year-old daughter.
”Who Killed Palomino Molero?” (Farrar Straus Giroux, $14.95) is a slim
(151 pages) Peruvian whodunit by Mario Vargas Llosa that has been translated into English from Spanish.
An unusual travel book is ”The Panama Hat Trail,” by Tom Miller (Wm. Morrow & Co., $15.95), which traces a hat from the time the raw straw is harvested in a jungle in Ecuador, woven by a peasant and sent on its way through the old Inca Empire until it ends up in a San Diego shop. Along the way, its value increases from 70 cents to $35.
These bookstores also carry a wide range of travel books.
Although they have many books and records in Spanish, the Europa Bookstore at 3229 N. Clark St. also has some English translations of South American classics. –
