Popular areas and schools in El Salvador host artists who bring magic and theater juggling

“It is better to cry with joy than cry with sadness in the face of so much violence,” says the clown Kapush with emphasis. He took his magic and juggling show out of the theater and took it to a neighborhood – neighborhood – in El Salvador considered dangerous due to the violence generated by gangs and other phenomena that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For Kapush, only the access street to the populous San José neighborhood, located in the municipality of Soyapango (east), a few chairs and sound was enough to perform his artistic show that included juggling and magic, and with which he got the little ones laughing and big.

The artist, whose name is Ever López, was part of the VIII International Festival of Scenic Clown which took place at the end of October virtually and with face-to-face performances by Salvadoran artists in neighborhoods, schools and other open spaces.

The clown method allows a greater interaction between the artist and the public, It is a kind of social circus in which the shows are transferred from the theater and other cultural spaces to the street.

“One of the things that has captured us the most is the human part that the clown has to tell stories that make the public identify immediately, because the clown is an authentic being, he is a totally vulnerable being on stage that allows this closeness with him. I publish, “Kapush, who is part of the ‘Tears of Risa’ collective, told Efe.

With the clown, the artist pointed out, “you can tell stories that are difficult to tell, it can be done in a more pleasant, more friendly way, with more empathy from his poetics, his speech and from his way of being”.

Noted that Salvadorans have experienced “difficult moments of confinement due to the pandemic, so people need mental health through laughter. “

To this also social problems are added With which people have already been living, such as violence, and which have worsened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“People don’t have access to go see a play, that is why it was decided to move the shows to the supposedly dangerous and stigmatized neighborhoods ”, he said.

Added that “Artists are also committed to decentralizing art, not only (being in) the theater but also in the street, in the communities and taking it (the show) to the children who do not have the possibility of buying a ticket ”.

“It is better to cry with joy than cry with sadness in the face of so much violence,” he added.

For the circus Valeria Juárez, the clown is “inviting all children to play without any distinction of gender or age.”

The artist is part of the Cirkeras El Salvador collective, made up of eight women who perform various performing arts, urban art and perform in streets, squares and parks.

The Cirkeras El Salvador show reached a public school in the picturesque municipality of Suchitoto, 50.6 kilometers from the Salvadoran capital, also as part of the Clown Festival.

“Almost always all art is left in the capital, so, by bringing it abroad, the children get excited,” he commented.

Return to exchange experiences

Helen Portillo, executive director of the Fundación Cultura Irreal Teatro that organizes the Clown Festival, commented to Efe that the event too It is a training space for national and foreign artists who participate.

The artists exchange experiences about the social circus to contribute to changing realities, to bring a pleasant moment and that the participants -children, youth and adults- enjoy and laugh with shows created with stories from the environment.

“We hope to meet again and that is what as artists who produce this type of event has been complicated with this new reality (due to the pandemic), because the challenge we have is tripled, but we wait for the hope of meeting again, to feel and be present ”, he added. (I)