Not just balls in the air: Young jugglers and their practical understanding of post-dictatorship Chile

Abstract

This article reflects on the understanding of post-dictatorship Chile of the group of young people who practice juggling in Parque Forestal, a public space in Santiago, Chile. Practice as a way of perceiving, knowing and understanding the world, is at the heart of my argument. Thus, practice, as our embodied being-in-the-world is my starting point. Drawing on the practice of juggling among Santiago’s young people, the article explores how the building of the juggler habitus is related not only to juggling technique but also to practical knowledge about being a juggler in Chile in current times. Drawing on interviews with jugglers and participant observation, the author approaches the process of becoming a proficient juggler as a navigation in which young people learn and acquire social and personal dispositions that shape their way of understanding contemporary Chile.