'Aura farming': The video game-inspired youth trend sweeping Latin America

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Dozens of young people gathered recently on a beach in Peru’s capital to dance, pose and show off their most creative moves — all in pursuit of one thing: aura.

They were taking part in a so-called “aura battle," a real-world spin on the Internet trend known as “aura farming” that is sweeping across Latin America .

Dressed up as characters from comic books or animated films, competitors engaged in dance battles of sorts, vying for the crowd’s applause. Those with the loudest cheers and the most creative moves advanced to the next round. One competitor dressed up as Spider-Man performed forward rolls and push ups, as techno music played in the background. Another hopped on one leg while kicking the other forward, in a move that looked straight from a video game.

“Aura farming is about letting your essence flow in a place where people are watching you, but where there is no shame,” said Liam González, a 20-year-old film student who attended dressed up as the movie character Shrek .

Gonzalo Cornelio, 19, came dressed as former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro , wearing a grey tracksuit like the one worn by the deposed leader the night he was captured by the U.S. military.

Aura farming competitions first emerged in Brazil and spread through social media. Now, teenagers and adults are holding aura battles across Latin America.

“It’s not about being popular,” said María Paula Martínez, a professor in the arts faculty at Colombia’s Los Andes University. “It’s about showing off good vibes, and having others recognize that.”

Like video game characters who farm for points, people who go aura farming are trying to earn a reward. In this case, it's about generating good vibes, and thus improving their “aura,” a term that, according to some spiritual traditions, refers to an energy field that surrounds people.

Fernando Lícito, a Peruvian content creator, said that in aura battles participants do not touch each other or trade insults. “They are simply farming their aura," said Lícito, 25. “And whoever gets the crowd to make more noise wins.”

Lícito said he saw a video in June of an aura farming contest in Brazil, and decided to bring the idea to Peru. So far, he has organized three aura battles there.

During the contests, some participants imitate soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo’s goal celebration, extending their arms downwards and making a sound that sounds like “siuu."

Aura farmers also draw on other online trends, with some repeating the words “six, seven” as they move their hands.

Aura battles have spread to cities across Latin America, including Mexico City, Quito and Buenos Aires, where dozens of people staged a battle in front of the Obelisk, one of the most iconic monuments in the Argentine capital. The contests have also reached Spain, with events taking place in Madrid, Burgos and Zaragoza.

Martínez, the Colombian arts professor, said that the concept of aura farming has moved beyond the digital world into physical spaces, enabling teenagers to socialize.

But some aura battles have met some resistance.

In Lima’s Miraflores district, officials recently cancelled an aura farming event, saying organizers had not obtained the permits required to hold it in a public space.

In July, the mayor of Cuiaba, a city in southwestern Brazil, denied permits for an aura tournament, arguing it was not in the public’s interest. The event was transferred to a university campus. And in Costa Rica, the ministry of education banned aura battles in public schools arguing they could create conflicts between students or disrupt learning.

In Mexico , by contrast, the education minister embraced the trend, posting a video in which he smiles and says he is “farming good education” as the country prepares for the new school year.

González, the aura farmer who dresses up as Shrek, said that this hobby gives him a way to have fun and express himself, even if his grandmother doesn’t get what he’s doing and thinks it’s silly. “We were born in a different era,” he said.

Associated Press journalists Mauricio Muñoz, Berenice Bautista and Gonzalo Solano contributed to this report from Lima, Mexico City and Quito. Astrid Suárez reported from Bogota.