Skateboarding As a Subculture of Contemporary Societies
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SkateVida Julio Bustos The History of Skateboarding in La Araucanía the most suitable place for skating. There they could be seen performing powerslides and tricks Skateboarding as a subculture of like the “ollie”, drawing the attention of other young people who later became interested in contemporary societies in the adverse this sport. On the other hand, the beginnings of skateboarding in the Araucanía Region are marked by context of Southern Chile, Araucanía Region the difficulties faced by enthusiasts to access skateboards and skate accessories, because at that time there were no specialized stores selling this kind of products and these could only be found in the city of Santiago, which led to the resale of used accessories, well-intentioned gifts, borrowings and friends that ultimately supported the practice. At the same time, skateboarding The skateboarding in Chile had its origin around the 70s in the city of Santiago and since then it videos in VHS format, which were very hard to find, were crucial for learning tricks, as well has grown exponentially over the last three decades, to become today an urban culture that as for the dissemination and comprehension of this subculture that involves different musical is socially extended by bringing together a large number of people. In Chile, since its inception, and fashion styles, particular behaviors and ideologies that in short helped to create an ideal the skateboarding has been linked to the big cities, due to their urban development, arriving atmosphere for a better understanding of this sport. later in the 90s to the south of Chile. Consequently, it can be stated that the development of this discipline has been closely related to the transformation of the contemporary city, since Under this dynamic the first local riders appeared, who promoted and gave substance to this sport requires adequate urban construction conditions and architecture in order to be several generations of skaters, becoming true forerunners and role models for others. Some practiced. exponents of the 90s, who should be mentioned, were: César Arriagada, Edmundo Venegas, Cristián Arjona, Ronald Schwartensky, David Espinoza, Milton Parra, Pablo Candia, Marco Although skateboarding is considered a high-risk sport, it is not necessarily related to the Díaz, Joao Williamson, Mario Felipe Troncoso, Juan Millanao, Rodrigo Cruz and Jaime Ibañez, execution of extreme sports practices. Rather, the development of extreme practice responds among others. Consequently, in mid-2000, small local markets emerged, which brought to the skill and inclination of those who practice this sport. At the same time, insofar as it accessories to make them available to the community, in addition to providing sponsorship encompasses a subculture as well as an urban sport, skateboarding is not in the hierarchy of to prominent riders who represented these stores, such as the Subversivo store and later the values possessed by traditional sports, which have as ideology competition, achievement, Eufory store in Temuco and South Force store in Pitrufquén. These stores distributed boards, scoring, etc., by contrast, it is considered that the individual’s self-fulfillment and free expression accessories, clothing, shoes and VHS, thus contributing to the dissemination of the American are the value in itself, being the very purpose to enjoy the ride, the culture and the friendship skate culture, which was brought to Chile by these entrepreneurs who helped to support the that are produced and found in the places where this sport practice is appreciated. It should activity and its members. be noted that the skate culture makes no difference between the socio-economic conditions of individuals, so that people from different socio-economic conditions can share the same When taking a tour of the most suitable spots or locations for skating from the beginning in space. the Araucanía Region, you will find the main square of Temuco, Ekono supermarket, Unimarc supermarket, Teodoro Schmidt square, Dagoberto Godoy square, Caupolicán tower, Subaru In the Araucanía Region it marks its beginning in the early 90s, approximately between 1993 technical service, Los Talletes street, “La Super Nuclear” underground spot, Los Caciques and 1994 in the city of Temuco. The first skaters in the area were the Fuentealba brothers, who multipurpose court, Corvalán Park and the amphitheater in Padre Las Casas, “La Vitrina” brought this innovative discipline from Canada, the country where they had previously lived in Angol, the multipurpose court in Pitrufquén and Gorbea, Pumahue school, Curarrehue for some time. The testimonies of the oldest local riders tell that these brothers showed their missionary school N°3 and the legendary “Plaza de las Banderas” (Flags square). Particularly, unique acrobatics and tricks on “fish-shaped” skateboards (the name given to an old-school the latter greatly encouraged and promoted the development of skateboarding as a sport board at the time) in the surroundings of the Sevilla shopping center, which at the time was and as a culture, with the ability to bring together various young people from the city and the region who were claiming this type of space for themselves, in an act of appropriation Although the construction of skate parks has responded to social demands and the intention of the urban furniture that met the most suitable conditions for practicing. In addition, it of local governments to regulate the appropriation and deterioration of urban space, they has represented a favorable place for cultural exchange and for the oral transmission of have not been designed based on the climatic conditions of the Araucanía Region and, in knowledge, where anecdotes and tips to achieve tricks were shared, and very hard-to-find general, of Southern Chile. The territory is composed of temperate rainforests and mountain accessories –at that time– were sold, borrowed or given away. ranges that produce a hostile climate for much of the year and that, ultimately, atrophies the infrastructure of the skate parks and makes it difficult for skaters to practice the sport. In the case of the municipalities surrounding the foothills, such as Pucón, Villarrica and Under this premise it could be concluded that the sport performance achieved by riders varies Curarrehue, skateboarding also began to be practiced in the 90s, largely thanks to the according to the natural conditions that the environment has, that is, in more suitable urban influence of the local tourist market, which generated the presence of a large number of sites and under more suitable climatic conditions a higher level of skill and ability would be immigrants, foreign visitors and Chilean tourists visiting the area. In other municipalities, such achieved. as Gorbea, Pitrufquén, Lautaro, Vilcún, Victoria, Collipulli and Angol, the practice of this sport began somewhat later, from the year 2000 onwards. On the other hand, the skateboarding Skating in Southern Chile means that skaters have to devise methods to meet their needs and scene in the municipality of Padre Las Casas has always been linked to the city of Temuco, carry out their motivations, which have led them to self-manage access to public and private since in the beginning they made up just one big city, and finally this helped to promote the spaces for skating in indoor sites, multipurpose courts, and abandoned places, which are all culture of skateboarding in the area, thus emerging great exponents of the sport in Padre las portrayed in this work. Casas such as Rodolfo Escobar, Ángelo Urra and Osvaldo Godoy, among others. Skate Vida: The History of Skateboarding in La Araucanía is a collection of photographs by In the strict sense, the skateboarding is a street sport and this is linked both to the streets and to various local authors that testify through the subjective view, part of the beginnings and skate parks. In 1979 the first private skate park was created in Santiago under the management development of this urban sport par excellence. of José Ramón Bañados. However, the creation of public skate parks in Chile had not been possible until 2007, when the Los Reyes Park was built in Santiago. Since then, this initiative has gradually expanded throughout the Chilean territory from the north to the extreme south of Chile. The creation of public skate parks in the Araucanía Region is subsequent and responds to the need of local governments to regulate this street practice, which takes squares and uses the urban elements of the cities, as well as to solve the collective demands that were claimed from 2008 throughout the Araucanía Region, and which called for massive protests demanding Felipe Aravena Valderas the construction of public skate parks. Under these circumstances, an urban culture with great Spring, 2020 social capacity became noticeable. In this way, skaters have organized themselves into formal groups as legal entities requesting funds to build obstacles or to demand the construction of a public skate park, which has been taking place, as mentioned above, gradually from the construction of this type of spaces in the central and northern part of Chile. In the last fifteen years, the intention of local governments to provide public spaces to the community has been evident, with the intention of promoting and fostering sport, in addition to responding to the collective demands that arise both from young people and from civil society in general. “When people see a photo or video footage they don’t really know that behind each one of those photos and video footage there is a long unpredictable story; you can have a breakdown or you can end up in a fraternal hug and celebrate or you can have an accident. In the end, the pressure you put on yourself is up to you.” Esteban Florio, Ojo de Pez #7 Video Magazine, 2003. in Valdivia. Not only is Manuel in the memory of skateboarding, Carlos Luna was murdered in The emotion in focus Gorbea, while Samuel Pino died by his own hand.