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!