These Competitors Let Their 'Essence Flow' With 'No Shame'

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 an "aura battle," a real-world spin on the internet trend known as "aura farming" that's sweeping across Latin America, per the AP. Dressed up as characters from comic books or animated films, competitors engaged in dance battles of sorts, vying for applause. Those with the loudest cheers and most creative moves advanced to the next round. "Aura farming is about letting your essence flow in a place where people are watching you, but where there is no shame," says Liam Gonzalez, a 20-year-old film student who attended dressed up as the movie character Shrek.

The competitions first emerged in Brazil and spread via social media. Now, teens and adults are holding aura battles across Latin America. "It's not about being popular," says professor Maria Paula Martinez of 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.

Aura battles have spread to cities across Latin America, including Mexico City, Ecuador's Quito, and Buenos Aires in Argentina, where dozens of people recently staged a battle in front of the iconic Obelisk monument. The contests have also reached Spain, with events taking place in Madrid, Burgos, and Zaragoza. Some aura battles, however, have met some resistance. In Lima, officials recently canceled an aura farming event, saying organizers hadn't obtained the permits required to hold it in a public space. In July, the mayor of the Brazilian city of Cuiaba denied permits for an aura tournament, arguing it wasn't in the public's interest; the event was transferred to a university campus.

And in Costa Rica, the Education Ministry 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. Gonzalez, the aura farmer who dresses up as Shrek, says 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 notes.