WHO THE *BLEEP* ARE YOU people? (THEY ASK IN THAT TONE)
(For FAQ's click here)
BELIEVE IT OR NOT... WE WORK FOR THE CITY -- ERASING GRAFFITIS.
...JUST KIDDING.
We are a company created by Professional Tour Guide/ Sommelier/Graff Artist/ Local Tattooed Street Thug* Al Ramirez, founder of Al Ramirez Wine Tours / Valparaiso Wine Tours, who arrived back to Valpo from NYC in '06.
VSA tours was co-founded by Jekse and Cines, a couple of local graffiti artists who are doing some great things lately, helping Valparaiso become one of South America's most painted town... the guys can't stop painting! they go by "La UKD Crew"; they been painting graffiti and tagging South America since they can remember. Why? ask them when you meet them!
Our guides are in charge of making sure you have a great experience.
...JUST KIDDING.
We are a company created by Professional Tour Guide/ Sommelier/Graff Artist/ Local Tattooed Street Thug* Al Ramirez, founder of Al Ramirez Wine Tours / Valparaiso Wine Tours, who arrived back to Valpo from NYC in '06.
VSA tours was co-founded by Jekse and Cines, a couple of local graffiti artists who are doing some great things lately, helping Valparaiso become one of South America's most painted town... the guys can't stop painting! they go by "La UKD Crew"; they been painting graffiti and tagging South America since they can remember. Why? ask them when you meet them!
Our guides are in charge of making sure you have a great experience.
DON AL RAMIREZ
Al Ramirez AKA "MR. AL RAMIREZ" - FOUNDER & MANAGING DIRECTOR
Al studied wine, so he's a sort of a weirdo. "Oranges! Apples! Peaches! Grass that was cut at 6 am by an old man in a wheelchair wearing golf shoes and tennis shorts"... (That, according to us, is Al talking about some Chardonnay or whatever)
He also paints (not great, but don't tell him that). He likes to walk around like he's the boss because he "created the Idea", "The first ever Street Art Tour Guide in Chile", and "everyone copies him"... but no one here is trying to hear it. If he gives you a tour, act like you liked it (nod and chuckle, while looking away)... then come back and take a real tour with the other guides. |
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DAMMIT EDDIE
Eddie R. AKA "Dammit, Eddie!!!" -
TOUR GUIDE & INSTRUCTOR
"Dammit, Eddie" is one of a kind. He's the type of person who will put his finger full of spray paint in the birthday cake, and say it wasn't him -- yet... everyone saw you, Eddie!!! There's a painted smudge on the #"$%[¨[* Cake, for #$%#* sake!!!
... Whoo; got that one our of our system, didn't we? Anyway, Eddie loves the Green Lantern, and occasionally wears the ring and points it at people... yes, that's right. If he does the tour in a Jedi robe, don't be scared... just walk away, and take the tour with another company. |
the shield
Javier "The Shield" Escudero - TOUR GUIDE
Yo, true story: the other day some dude is standing in our office, like staring at us, but not really, and we were like: "Who the heck is that?" and someone said: "Javier".
And we were like: "What Javier?" "The Shield". So... "The Shield" is his last name-- awful story; however, his brother, was once placed in front of someone in a fight and was nicknamed "The Human Shield"... Now, that's a story. Too bad he doesn't guide or speak English. |
Funky Fresh Pers
The Artist Formerly Known as "P3R$"
Pers is a local artist that loves to show up too early.
Which is weird. Normally you'll tell an artist to show up at 19:00, and they show up two and a half weeks (and 2 hours) late. Pers Shows up 17:30. This may be a red flag. Also, he is neat and has like an OCD with his spray cans; They are all evenly placed exactly 30 cm from the wall, from lighter to darker, and each type of cap is in a distinctive bag, tied with a diffrent color string to remember which is which This is also a red flag. We suspect Pers may be an undercover cop. |
LEGENDARY VSA CHARACTERS...
*Joaquin Martinez AKA "JAKE1 THE RULER"
FORMER OPERATIONS DIRECTOR & FIRST VSA GUIDE
A comedian once said "this world we live in is unbelieveable! I went in to rob a liquor store, and when I came out someone had stolen my car!"
That car thief could very well be Jake1 (see the pic/evidence above). He's the type of person who would boil a Frappucino/Iced Coffee just to rebel against the system. We've seen him go into a vegan restaurant, and ask for a lamb chop. Come on, Joaquin. This needs to stop. |
Unknown Real Name AKA "Mr. Molly & Sally"
WE DON'T KNOW -- UMM GUIDE, YES, GUIDE.
Mr. M&S is a criminal... a thug who mugged one of our guides, and now works for us (Yes, he mugged a job from someone).
He doesn't speak english, but he understands it from his travels through Ritoque, where everyone says "Sorry, Hermano" instead of "Disculpa, Bro" or "Esto es super cool" instad of "oh que piola"... so when we tried to talk smack about him he understood us, and mugged us all. Anyway, now he's our guide in Spanish. Does the tours on Saturday, and when he feels like it on Sunday. He always shows up late or last minute. SOS. |
We also want to thank everyone else who makes this possible. From the crews and artists that have backed us up from the beginning, to the cool hotel owners and managers, to the DMC's who give us work, to the wandering traveler who doesn't fit in with the "sheep tours" led by other tourists and act like they're locals, and to the haters who hate us on a national level...
THANK YOU. You all make this possible.
THANK YOU. You all make this possible.