Life’s a breeze for man in the street
Where are you from? Puerto Natales, a very small town in Chile with about 20,000 people. My mum was a housewife, my dad was a social security officer.
Where did your passion for performance come from? Since I remember I wanted to be on stage singing. When I was young I always tried to make a stage on my bed, with my bedding. If there was a school sketch I was there acting. I like to make up like a clown.
What other jobs have you had? I have done lots of different jobs. When I finished school in Chile I moved to Venezuela. I wanted to travel and have adventure. My first jobs were working as a waiter and a salesman there. I also worked in construction.
When did you become a street performer? About 20 years ago - in 1997, when I was about 36. I was living in Barcelona at the time. I wasn’t working so I needed to do something. I decided to be a human statue. I became a monk. I had seen a statue in a park and decided to become that. I prepared a costume and got some white makeup. Without asking anybody, I went to La Rambla and tried it. I didn’t practice. I just improvised.
How did it feel going out on the street for the first time? I didn’t know I could stand still so long, but I tried. People were staring at me and I was trying to stay still. It was hard to stop my eyes blinking. I was there for five hours. When I heard the first coin dropping I thought, ‘it worked.’ When I finished I looked at my money box and I saw a lot of money. I don’t know if I was good, but it felt excellent.
How did you end up coming to Manchester? I moved to Manchester from Dublin in 2011 or 12. I started in Market Street. I didn’t like it. I thought it was busy, there were too many people performing, it was too noisy. But it was the wrong perception. I decided to go to New Cathedral Street. I worked there for a long time. It was a little quiet on Sunday, but it was good for me Saturday. I could work OK. I had a few bad days, quiet days. I decided to try Market Street again. I have been here ever since.
Where did the idea for Windswept Man come from? When I moved to Dublin, I had to pay a lot for baggage. I had to throw away a lot of things. I threw away all my costumes. I went to a charity shop. I bought a jacket, I bought some wire, I put wire inside my jacket and a tie. I went to the street, I bought a horrible bag made of canvas - that was the briefcase. I didn’t think my Windswept Man was good. I’m a perfectionist, I don’t like it if my costume looks bad, I wasn’t happy. I wanted a proper case. But people liked it.