Haha, no kidding. But it's awesome, because you can appreciate what they're doing. I have some video of a guy who was dressed as a sorta tin man robot that would perform on the corners for cars. I can't find it right now though. Another guy would pull a strap across the road between poles on a red light, and do tightrope stuff, juggling, etc., then take it down before the light changed, leaving just enough time to walk among the cars to get tips before the light turned green. They're pretty creative and industrious.
Some of these were in Santiago, some in Viña del Mar. Santiago is a big city. Viña is medium sized, but the center of activity along the central coast. I prefer the latter, as it's more relaxed and pleasant, IMO.