Que Sería? A visit to Queseria's Migrant Labor Camp

Que Sería? 

Roughly translated, the question begs: What would be? Or what could be? 

Or possibly even, WHAT IF?

Quite aptly named, the town of Queseria sits at the bottom of an active volcano. A volcano that constantly spewed a combination of ash, lava, and smoke throughout our entire time in Mexico- a constant reminder of just what could be...

Arriving to our third Mexican show, which happened to be in a migrant labor camp in the above mentioned Queseria, we were greeted by about 50 of the most curious and dirt streaked small faces I had seen in a long while!

Quesería is located high on the slopes of the Colima Volcano. The surrounding hills, composed of ancient volcanic soils, provide ideal conditions for growing sugar cane; therefore a large sugar refinery is in operation. The workers who burn and cut the sugar cane on the mountain are indigenous peoples who speak Nahuatl or Zapoteca and are brought up from the Southern regions of Mexico by labor bosses. These families often live in what could be called a ramshackle box- at best. The housing generally consists of one concrete room per family, with an attached lean-to for a kitchen. Though material possessions were few among the local children, delight and curiosity were available in abundance. This was easily one of our most delightful audiences to date!

Project Amigo, the organization that arranged and supported us through our visit, has been active in this camp for many years. Over time, Project Amigo has built two classrooms, a kitchen, children's bathrooms, brought in playground equipment, and hired three teachers to educate the migrant children. There was an interesting glimmer of western influence in the donated clothing the children were wearing; and there is nothing more ironically heartwarming than seeing a shy and tiny dirt-streaked face framed by a Superman pajama top.

Casa de los Ancianos. A home for the elderly, part 1.

“Some people are old at 18 and some are young at 90... time is a concept that humans created.” Yoko Ono

 

  This past Thursday, we arose bright and early with the roosters and headed to Comala, Mexico to spend the morning with an often forgotten segment of the population– the elderly. We were nervous about this show since it is a very different audience than we are used to. "Will they laugh at our jokes?" "Will they be lucid enough to get the nuances?" "Will they just fall asleep?" //   We were surprised to find that our days of worry were for naught. We were greeted by three nuns and about 20 day residents. They whveled their chairs into a U shape, and were instantly charmed by the youthful energy of our circus. They seemed to really enjoy the show, laughing and clapping throughout. One particular grandma became so fascinated by the sound of her own clapping that she would often forget to stop. Fortunately, she had a friend nearby who was kind enough to redirect her focus to all that was happening in front of them. There were other visiting youngsters we nicknamed the miniClowns who jumped up after our performance to belt out some very... homemade tunes. One boy hit the strings of their guitar while the other one belted out random words at the top of his lungs. 

 

 We, of course, came prepared with a pocketful of clown noses. At the end of the show, Tyler coaxed the mother superior into donning a red nose, which inspired everyone present to do the same. Ten minutes later we had the sweetest 30 person circle of vintage clowns. We were so relieved to have this show go well, since we have one more performance lined up at a Colima home for the elderly.

 

 

 

 

 

Town Square Smiles ‒ Cofradia, Mexico

Tuesday night in Cofradia, Mexico is community market night. When you wander into the tiny town square you are instantly greeted by the smell of a street vendors tacos, the sight of locals selling everything from spatulas to silly string, and the sounds of whole families out on the town. The sight of dozens of children hanging around inspired us to run home to change into our clown attire and give an impromptu show. On our way back from changing we heard that news of our show had found its way to the town’s loudspeaker system‒ “we are announcing that all children in the vicinity should come to the town square because Circus of Smiles has arrived from the United States!”


Tyler, always the ham, gets excited when he hears the announcement that clowns are coming to town.

Cofradía de Suchitlàn, known as “Cofradía” for short, is a typical country village in western Mexico with a population of about 1,700 people. It is located about 20 km (12 mi) north of the city of Colima on the west coast of Mexico. Tiny rural town only begins to describe the charm. There are cobblestone roads, artisan shops built into family compounds, and delightful children everywhere you turn. We performed that evening to one of the most enthusiastic audiences we have come across. I am not sure who was more delighted... them at our performance, or us at their reactions!



Clown Nose Project 2013

We are excited to officially announce our next social circus project will be in Colima, Mexico! We'll be headed down at the end of this month to work in partnership with the local nonprofit Project Amigo. This means I just put in an order for over 100 juggling scarves and am on the hunt for a great deal on clown noses.

I am sad to report: "Toto, we're not in Argentina anymore." Whereas in Buenos Aires we were able to buy 300 clown noses for $20, here in the states the best I am able to find is noses for about .80 cents each. In hopes of finding some support from local sources, we have launched the 2013 Clown Nose Project! We are searching for circus and party goods supply companies interested in donating noses for free or very cheap, and generous folks who would want to purchase some clown noses for the children. $1, $10, $20... any amount will inspire a lot of smiles!

Facebook campaign coming soon, but in the meantime please send us any leads you may have towards finding a good deal on noses. And if you are one of those generous people interested in donating, please send us a message at TeamPauler@gmail.com. Thank you!

Grateful for clown noses.

I wrote a holiday inspired blog and meant to post it just between Christmas/Hanukkah and New Years Eve. That time came and went, and now I'm sitting here in February looking at the draft. But I guess it's never too late to be grateful, especially in public, right?

As this year begins and I reflect back the past two years of clown nosed adventure I cannot help but feel immensely grateful. Grateful for:

The opportunity to travel the world using circus as a way to give back to the communities we visit;

The many folks who have housed us, and otherwise taken care of us, on our journey;

 The inspiring community leaders we have met on our tours, and the tireless work they do;

The people who actually read this blog;

and 

Clown Noses.

Most importantly, what the clown nose represents in the work that we do. To me, it represents the moment we first break down boundaries between us and our audience. It is the smiles that we create on stage, and those that are created for us. It is flattery, inspiration, creativity, and silliness. It is nearly always framed by a smile. Cheers to inspiring smiles, one clown nose at a time!

Happy 2013, friends. Make the most of it!

 

From little to less in Lujan, Argentina.

One of my favorite things about doing Circus of Smiles work is that it allows me to experience the local approach to schooling, education, child welfare and shelter. My background before running off to join the circus was in education, so I love seeing the similarities and differences between countries as we travel to new places. In Luján, as I have mentioned before, there is a pretty wide economic divide between the different neighborhoods. We got to get up close and personal with this reality on our third visit to town when we did 7 shows in one [very long and exhausting] day.

I would say the most obvious difference we saw that day was between Escuela #920 in Barrio Parque Lasa and Guardería Infantil in Barrio Ameghino. These two also happened to make up one of our favorite spots to visit, and our least favorite, respectively. What it really comes down to is a child centered environment- or lack thereof.

Escuela #920 in Parque Lasa. Notice the conga line being led by a boy in a wheelchair.

*Staff and instructors. There was an obvious gap in the amount of training and education received by the two teams of instructors. The classrooms in Parque Lasa were well planned out with imaginative play areas, developmentally appropriate toys and student created artwork on display. In Ameghino, most of the teachers were tucked away in the small kitchen drinking maté (a very popular local tea) and at least half of them had cell phones in hand when we arrived.

* Safety. To be set up for success, a child (or any person) must feel safe- both physically and emotionally. Escuela #920 is one of the most inclusive schools I have come across. All children are welcome in this school; they have some of the most loving aides there to support students with different abilities. Acceptance of all needs and abilities has been instilled in all the students and staff. When a little boy with hearing aides and physical deformities was invited to help us onstage, the cheering support from the entire student body was inspiring. The Ameghino daycare, on the other hand, was full of small dirty faces that obviously hadn't been wiped after snacktime some hours before. There were crying children left in cribs, and a few toddlers trying to climb a fence to the outside of the school were met with yells and insults instead of a teacher walking over to redirect. Oh, how I wanted to give a lesson on positive redirection and pro-active instruction!

Guardería Infantil in Barrio Ameghino.

 * And finally, environment. This is the area that seems to be most affected by the neighborhood's funding abilities, and honestly contributes a lot to the above mentioned bullets. Whereas the school in Parque Lasa had a beautiful campus and multiple classrooms, the daycare in Ameghino was in a small room borrowed from a local church. It had a dirt floor and some roughly constructed sharp edges. Really, it was a place children go when their parents need to work and can't afford to send them anywhere else, not a place that would inspire a child to want to come to school.

Residencial Santa Cruz. A home in Cordoba for girls with special needs.

The patio and one of the girls´rooms.

While in Cordoba, we visited a home for girls with special needs in the Alta Cordoba neighborhood. We were inspired by the playfulness and enthusiasm shown by these teenagers. All of the girls currently living in the house are between 11 and 17 and were welcoming of the two funny dressed ex-pats that showed up to surprise them. I can´t call it an orphanage exactly, because many of the girls living in the home have relatives that, for one reason or another, don´t visit often. In many cases the family doesn´t have the capacity or means to care for a daughter with different abilities, though in some cases girls are moved out of their homes by the local municipality due to unsafe circumstances.

The ladies of Residencial Santa Cruz and the clowns.

Our show is juggling and physical theatre based, which means that it was written to appeal to all ages. Even so we usually cater mostly to younger children or mixed age groups. Very rarely do we perform for an adolescent/teen only group, which means that these girls had an important lesson to teach us. Have you ever thought about going to volunteer (at home or abroad)? What age group or population is it your initial impulse to work with? I find that for most people, myself included, the first thing we search for are children´s orphanages. Why? Because they are playful, living through hard circumstances, easy to connect with, and deserve a lot of love. Exactly what we found when visiting these young ladies.

After we finished our show and juggling workshop, the ladies invited us to take and seat and be their audience. As it turns out, all of the girls are involved in local art workshops and enjoy performing. On Saturday afternoons at the home, they learn folkloric dances to be performed around town at local schools and community events. Of course, just as we do, they decided to end with a workshop in which both Tyler and I danced the traditional partner dance, Chacarera.


 Last week I wrote about our scavenger hunt to find a place to perform for local children in Cordoba, Argentina. Revisit that story here. That hunt led us directly to Residencial Santa Cruz. When asked about donations, the caretakers enthusiastically explained that they are happy to take donations of any kind- including second hand clothes for the girls. They are also excited about the possibility of workshops and activities the girls can participate in. The grounds are spartan and the building is a bit ashamble, because the funding that comes from the government does not seem to be quite enough. I imagine someone interested in helping them set up a garden project would serve them well.

If you are interested in volunteering with these wonderful ladies, you can contact them by telephone at (011.54) 351.434.6072.