By Lanier Laney
Besides the many Northerners and Midwesterners who add their flair to Beaufort’s social scene, there is a sizable “International Set” here with residents from European countries such as England, France, Germany and Brussels, and from Asia and South
America, to name just a few. This past weekend, it was the Chileans and their friends who got together at the lovely Walling Grove home of Monica Codman-Nicholls and Andrew Nicholls to celebrate Chile’s Independence Day from Spain, which occurred in 1810.
The party’s fun-spirited hostess, Monica, is from a distinguished Chilean family, and came to the U.S. to attend Harvard University. She met and married a Boston “Brahman” and raised a family on Beacon Hill, with the Kennedys as next door neighbors. Her second marriage to Andrew brought her to Beaufort where she has been actively involved in charities including The Red Door and DragonBoat Beaufort. Chileans all over the world celebrate with empanadas, wine and dancing; and in Chile, the Independence Day parties can last three days!
Another Chilean, Beaufort Spanish teacher Josefina Blanc, was there with her husband and her son, who was dressed as a Chilean bandito. Monica joked that she
had both the tallest Chilean (Josefina, who is more than 6 feet tall) and the shortest Chilean (herself at 5’2”) at the same party. Mayor Keyserling attended along with 30 other great guests. Chilean wine, food and potent pisco sours, made by Andrew, were served to toast Chilean freedom. Viva Chile!
