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!