ONLINE EVENT:
'Menos condor, mas huemul?'
Fundraiser for the Chilean Wildfires
TBD: Fundraiser to be held May, 2026
Email: kittythatcher@gmail.com to stay informed

 

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The fire never dies,
it spies while half-asleep,
malicious its eye of gold
and rising suddenly.

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Gabriela Mistral

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On the 16 of January 2026 a series of wildfires across the regions of Biobío and Ñuble, causing at least 21 fatalities, injuring 75 others and destroying at least 800 structures. Approximately 66,878 hectares have now been burnt nationwide as of early February 2026.

 

More than 50, 600 people were forced to evacuate.​

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​SPECIAL EVENT

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Poetry clubbers of the The Shaking Legs Poetry Club have been witness to the stories and images of those affected by the wildfires circling on social media, and our hearts go out to the communities in the Ñuble and Biobio regions. In times of climate catastrophe such experiences are becoming increasingly common but we are not immune to the distress of those whose lives are affected. We wanted to put on an event to raise money in support of those re-building their lives.

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In the aftermath of the fires, the words of Nobel Laureate Gabriela Mistral were shared on social media including lines from the poems "Fuego" (Fire) and "La tierra" (The Earth), as well as fragments from the essay "Menos cóndor y más huemul"(Less condor more deer) published in the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio in 1926.

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In this special poetry session we will be reading these writings together in English and Spanish, exploring our own experiences of the fragility of the environment in the face of climate catastrophe, our connection with the earth, loss and beginning again.​

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All proceeds will go to Techo Para Chile which builds emergency housing for those affected by natural disasters.

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