THE CHICAGO 7, THE PROTESTS AND SOPAIPILLAS WITH MUSTARD

We recently watched The Trial of the Chicago 7 ( 2020), directed by Aaron Sorkin. It was a great recommendation from my husband. I really enjoyed it, especially because of the way it brings a true story, which I knew very little about until then, to life for the audience.

The film recounts the trial of seven men accused of conspiracy and other crimes following the protests that took place in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention, in the midst of the Vietnam War. What begins as a story about a demonstration ultimately becomes a story about power, justice, protest, and freedom of speech.

I like these kinds of movies that manage to make a part of history accessible without necessarily turning it into a history lesson. The Chicago 7 has something very Hollywood about it: relatable characters, tension, humor, and a pace that makes you want to know what's going to happen, even when you already know the ending.

While watching the film, I remembered another documentary I saw a few years ago on ARTE: In the Name of Maintaining Order , by the French journalist and documentary filmmaker Paul Moreira.

The documentary covers various episodes of police violence and repression of demonstrations in countries such as France, the United States, and Chile. Demonstrators. Police. People running. Tear gas. Beatings. Injured people. And cameras recording it all.

I've never been particularly outspoken about my political views, but I have participated in more than a few demonstrations. There's something about being there, alongside thousands of people protesting for something they believe is right, that makes me feel that perhaps something can change.

In 2019, I was already living in Barcelona and I had to watch from the outside what was happening in Chile. The protests, the assemblies, the process that followed, and the possibility—which at the time seemed so real—that the country would finally change its Constitution.

I'm not going to explain everything that happened afterwards here because, besides the fact that we would need several posts, in Chile we have an extraordinary ability to complicate even things that seemed relatively simple.

What I do remember is the feeling of being far away.

And I also remember that, in the demonstrations I participated in in Chile, police violence wasn't something abstract. It was part of the landscape. The tear gas, the police vehicles, running to avoid the smoke, hearing the screams. And then, when it was all over, going home.

Sometimes, we would eat some sopaipillas after the demonstration, if we didn't choke too much on the tear gas.

And I think that's where the recipe for this chapter came from.

Sopaipillas are one of those multifaceted Chilean foods; you can eat them raisins , with chancaca at home while it's raining outside, or with pebre, mustard, chili, ketchup for once - something we Chileans do, have once - or from a street cart (although there's always the risk of getting sick).

The Chicago 7, the protests and sopaipillas with mustard

Ingredients — Serves 2, about 8 sopaipillas

• 1½ cups of flour.

• ½ cup of pumpkin puree.

• 1½ tablespoons of butter or shortening.

• ½ teaspoon of salt.

• Frying oil.

Preparation

Cook the pumpkin until very soft. Drain it well and mash it. Let it cool slightly.

Mix the flour with the salt and add the pumpkin puree and the melted butter.

Combine the ingredients with your hands until you have a smooth, homogeneous dough. If it's too dry, add a little warm water, a teaspoon at a time. If it's too sticky, add a little more flour.

Roll out the dough on a floured surface until it is about 4 or 5 mm thick.

Cut out circles about 7 or 8 cm in diameter and prick them a couple of times with a fork.

Heat plenty of oil and fry the sopaipillas until golden brown on both sides.

Drain them on absorbent paper.

Add mustard (or chili, or ketchup or pebre to taste).

For my part, I'll always remember those sopaipillas with their revolutionary flavor, almost as dangerous as the possibility of encountering tear gas. If they didn't arrest me, I could always get a stomach bug .

The Chicago 7, the protests and sopaipillas with mustard.