“To make people laugh. It’s found within us. At the moment, there is a lot of sadness, people have problems and there are tensions in this world. The most beautiful thing is to make people laugh. Making other people smile makes us happy.” These words belong to Chocolatian, a clown from the Dominican Republic and they describe every clown’s mission.
About 800 clowns dressed in tall blue hats, big red noses and colourfully painted faces are taking part in the week-long 15th Annual International Clown Convention, aimed at gaining support and respect for their art. Clowns from Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, the United States, Ecuador, Honduras, Peru, Nicaragua and Mexico gathered to showcase their talents, swap ideas and pick up new skills.
According to the Latin-American Clown Association there are some 10,000 professional clowns in Mexico, of which 3,000 are women. Clowns are very important to Mexican culture and life. Thousands pop up on traffic intersections and perform tricks to earn a few pesos. It’s a tough life for them, but the convention tries to maintain high standards of clowning.
Salvadoran clown Carlota Lota said it was important to remember to smile.
