Viral ‘Aura Farming’ craze takes over Argentina Square
Key Takeaways
- Hundreds gathered in Mar del Plata for an in-person “aura farming” competition.
- Participants competed using dances, tricks, poses and displays of charisma.
- The event was disrupted when adults allegedly threw bottles and stones at participants.
Hundreds of young people brought the internet-born trend to Mar del Plata, competing through dance, poses and tricks before the gathering was disrupted.
Hundreds of young people turned Plaza Mitre in Argentina’s Mar del Plata into a stage for “aura farming” on Saturday, bringing the viral internet trend into the real world.
The gathering was organised through social media, with participants forming groups before competing in an “aura battle”. They performed repetitive dances, acrobatics, poses, intimidating gestures and slow walks as spectators watched and cheered.
Federico, one of the participants, described the competition as a way of displaying charisma and skills against an opponent.
“As a way of showing your charisma in a battle, doing six seven and the tricks you know how to do. The word ‘to farm’ comes from video games, from farming items, and aura, I do not know, like, aura is to do with the spiritual and all that, and yeah,” he explained.
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Participant Teo Sycz offered his own interpretation of the trend.
“For me, aura is creating with what you know,” he said.
His father, Hernan Sycz, said the gathering gave young people an opportunity to take an online trend away from their screens and socialise with others.
“I am with my son and he came to farm aura, the new trend, and he, well, he trains, does different activities, martial arts and, well, he came here,” he said.
The competition involved participants observing, imitating and reacting to each other while improvising their own performances.
However, the gathering was disrupted in its final minutes when a group of adults entered the square and threw bottles and stones at the minors taking part.
“We came here because they are kids and we did not like that people threw stones at them,” spectator Jack said.
Martin Moyano also called for young people to be protected while using public spaces.
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“We need to take care of the kids and let them go out to the square and have fun and socialise, and make sure no one comes to hurt them,” he added.
No injuries were recorded following the incident. The crowd dispersed after the event, while no police interventions or arrests were reported.
In internet culture, “aura” describes someone’s presence, charisma or ability to appear striking or “cool”. “Farming” comes from video games, where players repeatedly perform actions to collect resources or points. In aura farming, the aim is to build symbolic social points through displays of charisma.
The phrase began circulating on TikTok in early 2024 and gained wider international attention in 2025 after videos of Indonesian boy Rayyan Arkan Dikha dancing on the bow of a boat during the traditional Pacu Jalur competition went viral.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
