The fun spirit of Santiago surrounds this towering white marble monument. (Ottawa Sun/Laura Czekaj)

South Americans on the football field

SANTIAGO, Chile -- Imagine you're driving a car in Santiago and you come to a stop light where two characters wearing bright lipstick, bloomers and bowler hats ask for your keys, open your trunk and have some fun with its contents.

This isn't robbery but a unique form of street theatre performed by a couple of mimes who like to target motorists in front of the Museo de Bellas Artes.

We encounter them quite by chance one Sunday afternoon, after noticing a large crowd lining the curb on both sides of the street. We slow down for a look -- only to become unwitting participants in the show!

One mime in a pink jumpsuit who sees me taking his photo approaches our vehicle, strikes a silly pose 10-centimetres from my lens, then holds out his hat for a tip. When my driver offers 500 pesos (about $1), the mime reacts with an exaggerated look of disappointment, drawing laughs from the crowd, which garners another 500 peso note.

For the next hour we watch their crazy antics which include riding on the hoods of cars, hijacking bicycles, hopping aboard a double-decker tour bus, and holding a mock funeral for one mime's hat after a car runs over it!

If you want to catch some great free entertainment in Santiago, visit on a Sunday. That's when street performers of all sorts are commonplace and all the top museums are free. I discover this little-known (at least to tourists) fact on my first Sunday in the city when I emerge from the Church of San Francisco and find a folkloric dance performance underway accompanied by a live band across the street. It's so good, I wonder if it is part of a festival, until a local, who'd helped me navigate the subway system, tells me this is a typical Sunday.

From here it's a short walk to the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, considered Chile's best museum. I stroll in without even opening my wallet and marvel at the collection, which includes more than 3,000 pieces representing 100 pre-Columbian peoples of Latin America spanning a period of about 10,000 years.

Nearby is the Plaza de Armas where I get into another good museum free of charge -- the Museo Historico Nacional. Located in a former royal palace built in 1804, the museum contains an eclectic array of relics from Santiago's past, crammed into several rooms arranged around a large central courtyard.

With limited time, I decide to skip the Casa Colorado -- the city's best preserved colonial house, which is also free on Sunday -- and head for the Academia de Bellas Artes in an attempt to arrive before it closes. Stopping to admire the beautiful 18th and 19th architecture along the way, I arrive at the neoclassical Academia in time to see dozens of contemporary sculptures by Chilean artists in the rotunda.

What catches my attention most, though, is the variety of entertainment going on outside -- it's the liveliest place of all. A crowd has gathered around some actors putting on a play.

Musicians and jugglers entertain people of all ages in the square, and a flea market has been set up in the adjoining park, where acrobats perform various stunts using long sheets of fabric tied from tree branches.

After walking around Santiago all day with no particular plan in mind, one thing I learn is that if you visit on a Sunday you never know what you'll find! But it's sure to be a pleasant surprise.

IF YOU GO

Though it's said to be one of the most expensive countries in South America, Chile is still a deal by most North American standards. Vilafranca (vilafranca.cl), a clean and cozy "Petit Hotel" in a quiet neighbourhood of tree-lined streets is $60 per night with breakfast. A tasty meal of freshly caught fish at the Mercado Central can be had for about 5,000 pesos ($10) while a subway ride in Santiago is 75 cents. For tours of the city and beyond try Santiago Adventures (santiagoadventures.com). The guides are knowledgeable, accommodating, and very polite.