CARACAS – If police aren't shutting down his street shows for lack of permits, Venezuelan motorcycle trick rider Pedro Aldana is battling coronavirus quarantines or the tropical rains that turn the asphalt slick and send fans running for cover.
Despite life's obstacles, Aldana — a natural-born showman who performs in wild checkered clothes and dyed green hair — has kept up his performances, which draw hundreds of people to unused parking lots or obscure city streets. “This is my hobby, my art," said Aldana, who is leading a movement to win official recognition of motorcycle acrobatics in Venezuela — a sport nurtured in poor neighborhoods like his, where he sometimes mentors young fans in basic mechanics. "This is my passion and my work.” A