Sunday, June 30, 2013

Marcos' One-Man 30-Second Circus


Sure, I could do that myself.
Marcos, from Uruguay, was earning coins the other day with his solo circus at a stoplight near the Biblioteca Nacional.

His is not an easy profession. He has to pack in his juggling show while the light is red, then rush forward before the cars move to collect drivers' coins before they drive away.

"It's a very, very short cycle," Marcos observed of the lights.

Still, Marcos can make good money - up to 70,000 pesos per day.

An average show earns him 500 pesos. But occasionally several drivers contribute. And occasionally someone impressed by his effort gives him a bill.

"A bill's a bill!" he grins.

Marcos has been working intersections for six years, while traveling across the continent. He seems to have done well enough in Colombia. But some places he's tried to perform in Venezuela and Uruguay's Punto del Este resort stoplight performs are not allowed.

Marcos's visa is running out and he plans to move on as soon as he's got his traveling money together.


 







Time to collect. 

Some coins!


By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

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