Curarrehue Celebrates the Inaugural Mogekonmen 2025 Festival, Honoring Mapuche Cuisine as Living Heritage of Wallmapu

The festival aims to strengthen the local economy, raise awareness of traditional knowledge, and foster the transmission of this knowledge between generations, bringing together gatherers, gardeners, cooks, and producers from the region.

The Citizen

16/10/2025 5:12pm

Text and photographs: Corteza Lab

On Tuesday, October 14, the Mogekonmen 2025 Festival officially launched with a significant ceremony held at the restaurant of lamngen Anita Epulef. This event, which brought together the organizing team, press, and special guests, reinforced the essence of Mogekonmen, a Trawün (gathering) dedicated to preserving food heritage, territorial identity, and the protection of seeds and gardens in Kurarewe.

During the launch, the festival’s organizing team welcomed guests with a tasting of traditional dishes highlighting the richness of local products. They shared all the details of this event, which celebrates Mapuche gastronomy and is set to take place on October 30, 31, and November 1, 2025, thanks to the network of cooks from Curarrehue, under the auspices of the Coordination of the Walüng Fair.

This event, designed as a grand celebration of the Day of Mapuche Cuisine, aims to position Curarrehue as a reference point for ancestral, sustainable gastronomy with a strong territorial identity, valuing the culinary identity of the area by showcasing memory, ancestral techniques, cultivation, harvesting, and the flavors that have sustained Mapuche families in southern Chile for generations.

Over the three days of activities, the public can enjoy a gastronomic and craft fair, keynote talks, discussion panels, and live culinary demonstrations featuring prominent figures from Mapuche cuisine and culture.

Anita Epulef, a prominent Mapuche chef and one of the organizers of this event, states, «The relationship we have with the land through cooking is so important to share, especially today… After experiencing this culinary journey, we hope everyone will feel a bit happier and more aware of who we are as a territory, a nation, and a people that recognize ourselves through food.»

Miguel Catricheo, a Mapuche chef from Curarrehue and also part of the festival’s organization, comments, «This festival explores various aspects of how we view Mapuche cuisine. It’s not just a simple food festival; it has elements of gastronomic education from a cultural perspective… For example, it addresses generating a local economy, showing people a cuisine with roots that have given rise to many other cooking styles today. Culinary practices are heading toward the future, but they often forget their roots, and Mapuche cuisine has profound roots.»

The Mogekonmen Festival, which is free and open to the public, will feature notable guests from the gastronomic, artistic, and academic fields, including chef Rodolfo Guzmán (Boragó), anthropologist Sonia Montecino, writer and journalist Pedro Cayuqueo, and prominent Mapuche figures in the country such as academic and writer Margarita Canio and chef Zuny Lepin, among others.

With this celebration, Curarrehue reaffirms its commitment to preserving Mapuche knowledge, sustainability, and gastronomic development with a local identity, inviting people from the region and all over Chile to learn more about the rich world of Mapuche gastronomy. For more information, follow the event on Instagram @mogekonmen.

Event Details

October 30, 31, and November 1, 2025
Location: Curarrehue Plaza and surrounding areas
Organized by: Network of Cooks from Curarrehue, Coordination of the Walüng Fair
Supported by: Füta Mawiza Initiative
Entrance Fees:
-Seminar: $5,000 per day (Thursday, October 30, and Friday, October 31)
-Fair, cooking, and live music: Free.

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