It was a meeting that almost never happened. After taking Santiago's metro to the end of the line, we disembarked, disoriented and unable to find the roads Google Maps had assured us would meet us there. Locals swore such roads didn't exist. But, after wandering around the San Ramon neighborhood for a while with little hope, we unexpectedly stumbled into the street we were seeking, the street that would lead us to the Derechos Radio station and founder Ricardo Riffo Chiguyante's house. And, good thing, too - because this meeting was the great surprise of the trip.

Derechos Radio was founded in the early 1980s by a group of young, social activist friends. Called Sol-Ju-Li (Solidarity, Justice, and Liberty) at the time, it was a form of cultural resistance to the military dictatorship, following in the footsteps of Chilean folksinger Victor Jara. Today, the programming is more varied, but human rights remains a point of focus.

We started off in Ricardo's living room. He told us that the radio studio was currently being renovated, so the station was off the air for a little while. We talked about the neighborhood; San Ramon is very different than downtown Santiago, where we had spent the bulk of our time up to this point. Clearly a working-class neighborhood, most buildings are single-story (and often subdivided many times), made out of relatively cheap materials, and many street-side walls are adorned with murals. Ricardo described how, during the Pinochet years, the government lied about conflicts within certain neighborhoods like San Ramon. Military operations to crush leftist opposition were perpetrated under the cover of peace-keeping procedures in response to urban warfare.

After a short conversation, Ricardo invited us to hop in his truck and see the neighborhood. First, he took us to a central park that is lined with impressive murals. Many of the paintings focused on the Mapuche Indians, Chile's major indigenous group which has spent most of its time in the post-Columbian era living in isolated obscurity. Most Chileans we spoke with, though, identified the Mapuche as the single most significant human rights issue in the country today.

Repeatedly victimized and marginalized, most Mapuche live in poverty and have little hope for professional success. They were never integrated into modern Chile and lack access to education and other necessary resources. While Ricardo doesn't believe that the Chilean government needs to offer reparations or other financial aid, he believes a concerted effort is necessary to meaningfully integrate the Mapuche people and combat discrimination. The Mapuche today are undermined, he explained, by the fact that the primary employment opportunities available are for domestic aids. This pulls women - primarily mothers - out of Mapuche communities for many years at a time, destabilizing the family and alienating many children. With the dissolution of the family unit comes increased social tension and a blow to traditional culture.

Back in the truck, Ricardo drives us around, pointing out every group of young people gathered in the street ("Delinquents!") and frequently asserts that they are selling illicit materials ("Drugs!"). This can't be over-stated; Ricardo mentioned drugs every 30 seconds or so as we drove through San Ramon. As is the case in so many places, drugs came hand in hand with poverty. He showed us some tiny apartments, which had been further split up to accommodate people who are barely eking out a living.

Finally, he stopped in front of his friend Andres's house. Andres is a professional entertainer, with a circus background. While his specialty is contact juggling, he is skilled in many of the street performer's dark arts. However, we are at his house because, in addition to his profession, he is a community activist, bringing in kids from the neighborhood to learn from him. It's a way to challenge the negative trends in the San Ramon area, giving kids an alternative, something constructive and meaningful that they can do with their time.

Before we know it, a young boy has stilts taped to his legs, a shiny suit thrown on over the top, and is strutting up and down the road in front of the house. Another youngster is juggling, while others look on, smiling. Andres tells us about a major performance they have coming up, while showing a picture of his troupe, all dressed in costume.

Both Ramon and Andres are well aware of the problems in their neighborhood and, truth be told, more than a little pessimistic about it. And yet, they continue to invest significant amounts of time and personal resources in swimming against the tide.