Will Cheer for Money

In Brazil there are a lot of little kids who beg for money on the street by juggling for the cars stopped at lights during rush hour. They usually use tennis balls and travel in little groups. It’s pretty sad because any money they get usually goes to whomever pushed them on the street to juggle. Some people try and give them little snacks because at least that way they can eat a bit. Anyway, in Chile, they have taken performing in front of cars at rush hour to a whole new level of awesome.

In Santiago, it’s not kids asking for money and performing for the cars, it’s adults. And they don’t simply juggle, these people are above juggling. Here’s a rundown of what I’ve seen performing at rush hour on the streets of Santiago:

· One token juggler. But this guy juggled with several clubs, wore some sort of clown outfit with makeup, and pitched the clubs really high up in air… it took some skill. Also, in the town of Viña Del Mar, I saw guys juggling fire and knives, so that was cool.

· One woman dressed as some sort of robotic doll accompanied by a man dressed as her clown/puppet master. The lady was dressed completely in white, with a white wig, and white face paint and perched on a box on the side of the rode. She sat completely still and then her clown/puppet master would direct her to move around. She moved around like a robot, but I think it was supposed to be like she was a puppet. It was very strange, and I still don’t get it.

· One man with a soccer ball. He would kick it up really high, balance it on his head, dribble it, etc. Chris wondered if he considered himself a professional soccer player because he was technically paid to play soccer.

· One magician. This guy would make ping pong balls appear and disappear in his hands. Even from the side, it still looked believable, and I was impressed.

· One male gymnast. This guy would tumble on the street in front of the cars, and do flips and back handsprings… let’s just hope he always sticks his landings.

· One child karate student. This little girl was actually in a public square performing for a group of people. She just ran through her little karate moves. Chris and I figured her parents made her do it to pay back all the money they spent on karate lessons.

· And the best one of all: Cheerleaders! With outfits! On a continent that doesn’t even have cheerleaders! Anywhere! There was one girl in a cheerleading uniform accompanied by two guys. Every time the cars would line up at the light, they would run out and start pumping up the crowd with kicks and spirit fingers. Then the guys would hoist the girl up in the air, she’d wave at the crowd, she’d do a liberty (for you non-cheerers out there, that’s when you balance on one leg, grab your other leg from behind, and pull your heel towards the back of your head), then she’d do a little twist/flip in the air, the guys would catch her, and they’d run into the cars and collect money. They did this for over an hour. I know this because we watched them from a bar across the street. And it never got boring.

I’m sure there were others that I’m forgetting, but I just got all pumped up thinking about the cheerleaders again. So next time you’re stuck in traffic you should take a moment to be sad that you’re not stuck in traffic in Santiago, where you can be entertained by a woman painted all white pretending to be a robot puppet.