Clowns. Lion Tamers. Acrobatics. Tents. Cotton Candy. Elephants. The Wringling Brothers. These are the things you think of when you hear the word: CIRCUS. A mysterious, magical world where dreams come alive and children are amazed by the wonders performed underneath a giant stripped tent. At least that is what I hear. I have never actually been to the circus in the States (thanks Mom and Dad! Third child syndrome. I have also never been to Disney world but we aren’t here to talk about my deprived childhood). Lucky for me, the Guatemalan circus decided to stop by my little corner of the world here in Nebaj.
Now I use the word “circus” loosely. Don’t get me wrong, there was a large tent involved. Not to mention the crazy clowns. But elephants, lion tamers, cotton candy and the bearded lady were left out of the mix. After we paid the ten quetzals entrance fee, we began the adventure by spotting a raccoon tied up outside of the gate. I understand that raccoons aren’t very common here in Guatemala, but I wouldn’t consider them “exotic” or worthy of display. This was the first warning sign that this was going to be an interesting experience.
The evening started off with a performance by the clowns. Their outfits looked as if they were purchased at the thrift store. But in spite of their dirty costumes, they were quite hilarious. I wouldn’t consider the content child-friendly though. They joked about cheating on their women, alcoholism and one of the men even dressed up as a woman. Halfway through, I was looking around and wondering if the mothers were covering their children’s eyes. At one point, two girls (definitely underage) were wrestling on the ground in skimpy outfits. I didn’t know whether to laugh because it was quintessential Guatemala or to cry for the same reason.
Not only were there underage women wrestling and dancing, but the little girls were also the acrobatic entertainment. They wrapped themselves in sheets that were connected to the roof and flew through the air without any sort of protection. The only thing holding them in the air was some guy who was only using one arm. At one point I gasped because I imagined the child falling to her death. It was terrifying, yet extremely impressive. They had amazing skill…even if it did scare the bejesus out of me.
My favorite part of the circus was the three year old clown. Child labor laws don’t really exist in Guatemala, so this little guy was dressed up in crazy colors and put to work. He had some one-liners that really cracked the crowd up. I wanted to take him home with me by the end of the night. Another interesting performance was the juggler. She started off with the easier feat of plastic rings. Then she progressed to wooden bowling pins. She dropped them twice. She wasn’t exactly the best juggler ever. But then the real adventure began. They lit the pins on fire. Now you would think since she dropped the non-flammable objects, that they wouldn’t give her something that would set the whole place up in flames. But she did it anyway. And then she dropped one of them. At this point, I was scared for my life. Luckily, she didn’t catch anything on fire. She just nonchalantly picked up the flaming pin and continued her performance. I am lucky I escaped that circus without third degree burns.
At the end of the performance, I had mixed emotions about the whole experience. It was entertaining and a little disturbing at the same time. It was so perfectly Guatemalan. You take what you have and you run with it. Instead of having a lion tamer, they taught a goat to walk across a plank of wood. Instead of having a cotton candy, they served fruit. Instead of a tight rope, they tied a blanket to the ceiling. You can never say that Guatemalans aren’t resourceful. Don’t have enough money to pay for employees? That’s ok. Little Jose is almost two…it is time for him to try on the clown suit! Looking back on the evening, I am glad I went. I got some good laughs and a new experience to write about. Now, I can’t say that I will ever go to another Guatemalan circus…but you know what they say…all things are possible if you just believe.
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