By Camilo Smith and Michael del Castillo
Tearful anticipation marked the ascent of the Phoenix 1 capsule as it brought its first batch of trapped miners up to freedom, near Copiapo, Chile. Members of New York’s Chilean community gathered in restaurants and bars in Manhattan and Queens, while a few Chilenos encountered in Brooklyn said they were using Twitter to keep track as the miners emerged one by one starting just after midnight.
Perhaps the largest formal gathering of expatriates took place at the Pomaire on West 46th St. in Manhattan, a popular Chilean bar and restaurant. The Chilean support group, Gabriela Mistral Foundation, hosted a vigil attended by about 50 people, many of whom donned yellow plastic miners’ hats emblazoned with “33 Esperanza” (33 Hope).
Local and national news outlets broadcast the event live in Spanish and English from the street in front of the restaurant. Inside, the bright lights of seven camera crews and correspondents enveloped the densely packed crowd.
Moments prior to Florencio Avalos, 31, emerging from the mine, the audience called for a moment of silence with the collective dinging of forks on empty glasses of sangria. Julio Fiol, the consul general of Chile, was on hand for the event. “It’s a very emotional process. You come from two and a half months ago, when no one even knew if they were alive, to waiting around a screen for them to come up.”
In Williamsburg, many of the bars along Bedford Avenue were tuned to baseball, but at the Beco restaurant, Chileans Elisa Garcia de la Huerta, 27, a visual artist and her roommate, Marcia Julia, 26, a writer, were hanging on to the developments at the Copiapo mine in their faraway homeland.
Between sips of wine, Julia searched for news of the rescue on her iPhone, and called up a photo of the capsule to get an update. De la Huerta said Twitter feeds kept her up to date. “It’s our responsibility to care, “ she said. “It’s a hard time for Chile, and everyone is being self-aware.” The two women hail from Chile’s capital, Santiago, but have spent the last two years in Greenpoint.
For Julia, what mattered most was the outpouring of love and support for the miners back home.
“The people don’t have family, they have ‘familión ,” she said stressing the immensity of national support in Chile for the miners. Many relatives had been camping out nearby for two months. The eyes of the entire nation and much of the world were on the situation unfolding live.
“They’re going to be famous and rich,” said de la Huerta.
“It’s like a reality show. After a month, nobody’s going to care,” piped in Julia. “It’s going to be the same as after the earthquake hit. The media pays attention and after a month, the story is over.” Parts of the country are still recovering from the Feb. 27 disaster.
Chilean Natalia Moena, 25, watched CNN’s live feed of the rescue in shared anticipation on her computer in her Williamsburg apartment. “It seems like [Chileans] can’t catch a break,” she said. Just two weeks ago she helped organize a benefit art show and concert for Chilean earthquake relief. It featured Chilean artists and wine donated by Wines of Chile. The event helped raise $2,000 for the Un Techo Para Chile housing project.
Moena, a photographer and waitress, was born in the U.S., but her parents are from Chile and her mother still resides in Santiago. Moena had been following the unfolding mine rescue since reading about it in the newspaper earlier in the day.
As the rescue mission carried on through the earliest parts of the morning, it was hard not to appreciate the emotion as miners, one after the other, emerged to loud cheers. Six, then eight, before dawn, one more father, husband, son reunited with his family.,
“It’s hard to put yourself in [the miner’s] position. To me it’s shocking. It was very emotional, regardless of being Chilean or not,” Moena said.
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