This headline on the BBC news website caught my attention…
Santiago’s Red Light Jugglers
By Maryrose Fison, Santiago, Chile
Was this is a story about a variety entertainer or a new and dangerous way of taking a left at the lights?
It was in an international news website so of course I was going to read it just in case. But I had already sort of guessed what it might be about. Do you have any idea?This is my story…
About a year ago I was traveling home from a cruise, it was Lima, Peru. I was picked up by a taxi and was en-route to the airport. It was only the second time I had been there and both times I was disembarking. This meant little or no time to sight see, in fact my only experience of that city is the port, the airport and the inside of a taxi.
This Taxi was better than the usual (the air conditioning worked) and the windows had been freshly cleaned (thanks to the squeegee boys at the last junction) so I was relaxing and enjoying the scenery. It was dusk and the exciting city was just coming to life. Not the business life, that was just ending, I’m talking about the night life.
Lima is a colorful city and there was sound and light everywhere. The roads were busy and the aggressive form of driving (one hand on the wheel the other on the horn) seemed to be the order of the day. The car behind honked us because we accidentally stopped at a red light!
And that is when I experienced a Red Light Juggler.
All of a sudden standing in the middle of the road was a guy juggling five clubs. He did a 60 second routine that involved behind the back and under the leg and several other tricks, and any juggler will tell you that we are talking highly advanced stuff here!
Just before the lights changed he rushed around the four or five cars to collect tips, and then it was over. The shortest street show I have ever experienced, and this one really was in the street!
***
I still go out and do street shows a few days every year. I do it because I love the challenge, it keeps my street chops fresh, and I still say that it is the sweetest money I ever earn.
I used to joke that a successful street entertainer was just a beggar with talent. You are basically asking for money from strangers, but you do it in a slightly nicer way than your average down and out. Then I thought a better simile would be a con man. You have to find a mark, show him a trick and get him to give you some money, and none of this was the marks intention when he left home. Now-a-days I think the whole thing has become an exciting game that I love to play and I love to win. But most of all I love the fact that I go out there and have no idea exactly what is going to happen next.
You can read the BBC story and see some pictures of the red light jugglers here. Watch the video link of the whole process…
Santiago’s red light jugglers by Maryrose Fison
So here is your challenge for today –
The lights have just turned red and you have 60 seconds to impress the crowd and get the money!
