WHO IS HOBO?

A HOBO is a vagabond who in general voluntarily adopts a lifestyle characterised by simplicity, travel, a search for the inner self, living on the margins of society and dabbling in work.

The ethic and culture of the Hobo comes from the second half of eighteenth century America and is rooted in time as is its own mix of characteristic values and language. Emerging with writers like Jack London and like Jack Kerouac the folk singers of the fifties and the Beat generation.

According to the poets and seekers of adventure who recognized and contributed to the re-evaluation of the hobo culture, the ethics of the hobo are those of freedom:  Ethics (which distinguish hobos from the vagabond, the unemployed, the criminals) for  which he “doesn’t refuse to work, but refuses to be a slave to work “ and at the same time condemns violence and theft.

In the Sixties and Seventies, despite carrying on, the phenomenon of the hobo was seen to decline as its philosophy evolved into that of hippies:  American then European hippies on their travels , often hitch-hiking or with customized vans roving between the big festivals in America, Europe or India…

Remaining  traces of the culture, above all the hobo spirit, can be found today in backpackers and inter-railers, amongst bikers and in rave culture.