If you have been to Santiago, you will have seen them. Pokemones like to hang out around metro stations, combing their hair flat out in front of their eyes, and making out with each other. They wear black, dye their hair, and wear a lot of red makeup. Kind of like emos only… cuter. And somehow smaller, although I expect that just comes from being Chilean.
The upper classes despise them, and the pelolais fear them. National newspapers try to decide what to do with them, bemoan the terrible degeneration of today’s society, and finally conclude that it is probably just a phase.
Why do they rock? The Pokemones, for all their stupid clothes and pretentious hairstyles (seriously, lamp-post related injuries must have gone way up with the birth of the Pokemon hairstyle) are a welcome change in conservative, mainstream Chile. These kids are alternative, and they like to flaunt it. Five years ago, you would not have seen two girls making out in the Parque Forestal, and definitely not two boys. Now, the Pokemones are at it every weekend, holding hands and generally canoodling for all to see. It’s cute, and you can’t help noticing. Are they gay? Maybe not. But if the kids are doing it, then maybe this country will catch on that it’s not all that bad.
Just don’t accuse the Pokemones of giving each other blow jobs in public. This unfortunate article by Ashley Steinberg, who probably should have known better, led to a minor national outcry. That’s the other thing about Pokemones – they’re fiercely loyal. And good for them.
