Chile’s presidential election has been big on musical and other surprises, from a 72-year-old candidate’s ill-advised foray into rap to a Javier Milei-style metal track created with AI.

Here are three quirks of Sunday’s race to succeed outgoing left-wing President Gabriel Boric.

– ‘Danke schoen’ –

A full three of the four leading candidates in the presidential race — far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast, his ultra-right competitor Johannes Kaiser and Evelyn Matthei, a mainstream conservative — are of German origin.

Matthei broke into German during the final candidates’ TV debate on Monday.

“Danke schoen (Thank you),” she said, blushing after the burly Kaiser, 49, presented her with a rose for her 72nd birthday.

Around half a million of Chile’s population of nearly 20 million people

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