September arrives and, with it, countless events that invite us to celebrate the traditions and flavors that are part of Chilean identity. This year, one of the most popular festivals of the national culture also returns. After almost a decade without being held, the Cumbre Guachaca is back, a gathering that brings together music, gastronomy, and the traditional crowning of a king and queen.
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The celebration will take place this Saturday, September 5 and Sunday, September 6 between 6:00 PM and 2:00 AM, at the classic restaurant Los Buenos Muchachos (Ricardo Cumming 1031, Santiago Centro).
The event will also feature live music from groups such as Los Viking 5 and La Sonora Palacios and a program that aims to bring together dance, party, and food in one place.
And if there is one element that runs through the Patriotic Holidays celebrations, it is gastronomy. For this edition of the Cumbre Guachaca, the restaurant prepared a special menu that rescues some of the classics of Chilean cuisine and, at the same time, incorporates more innovative proposals. “We designed the menu thinking about what we know how to do, which is typical food, and making it an attractive menu for the consumer. As always, empanadas, anticuchos, pastel de choclo, and, of course, the barbecue cannot be missing,” says Rodrigo Gallo, executive chef of Los Buenos Muchachos.
Within this repertoire, there is also a dish usually associated with the day after the barbecue: the ajiaco. “It is the final point to make the most of everything used in the barbecue,” he says, “always thinking about continuing to enjoy.”
And although the classics will be present, the menu incorporates preparations created especially for the occasion, such as a chorrillana and a particular rolled sandwich served in sopaipilla bread.
In the case of the chorrillana, although it is not on the restaurant’s menu, they added it because it is a product of general taste and easy consumption, says the chef. “The idea is that the customer can make the most of the entertainment of the show and activities, and that the food is quick to prepare and can be shared,” he explains.
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The rolled sandwich, meanwhile, was born from a more experimental idea that ended up surprising with its reception. “It was a joke that turned out to be a great product and that, seeing the public’s reception at this Cumbre, we will see if it is permanently included on the Los Buenos Muchachos menu,” he previews.
Thus, the proposal seeks to maintain the essence of traditional flavors but also play with them and present them in a different way. A formula that seems to fit the spirit of a celebration that precisely mixes tradition, humor, and popular culture.
Regarding why cuisine has such an important place in our Patriotic Holidays, the chef says it is almost a ritual. “Work is done together, functions are distributed, preparations are made as a team, and we end up eating after several hours of sharing the preparation.”
And if he had to choose a single dish to represent the country’s gastronomic identity, Gallo does not hesitate: pastel de choclo. “It brings together agriculture, with corn; livestock, with the meat filling; and the artisan, with the clay pot. That brings us all together. And the preparation is done as a family.”
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Tickets for the Cumbre Guachaca 2026 are available through the Puntoticket system.
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