Chiapas 2004

by Dianna on Feb.12, 2004
under Chiapas

Rudi returns to Chiapas to clown solo for the first two weeks of 2004.

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January

Volunteer: Rudi Galindo

Journal

I am here once again in this dream place called Chiapas, standing in the middle of the road with my clown suitcase. If I squint my eyes I can pretend that the military campground and its soldiers with their shiny black automatic rifles are not really there. That the furrowed brows of the indigenous men as they look over their shoulders is just what happens when you look into the sun light.

As I open my suitcase all eyes are upon me. Small children with bare feet and dirty faces, the Traditionalistas dressed in their red, black and white traditional clothing, a group of women all standing together giggling behind their colorful embroidered shawls, the PRIstas with their new cowboy boots and white starched hats, and of course the young soldiers with their rifles pointed downward. A very diverse group of people divided by political, patriarchal and social ideologies.

I begin my show by acting like a chicken. The children are the first to laugh, the first to drop their guarded attitudes and tough exteriors and open up like an exotic plant that just needs some water. After ten minutes this circle of divided peoples has become a blur of laughing faces. For a brief moment they have forgotten to be bitter enemies and factional rivals. Instead they are friends, neighbors and relatives. A community all sharing in an afternoon of juggling chickens, disappearing scarves and rubber noses.

January 2nd San Andreas Larrainzar Performance/ 150 people
January 3rd San Juan Chamula Performance/ 500 people
January 4th San Andreas Larrainzar Performance/Workshop/300 people
January 5th Colonia Paraiso Performance/250 people
January 6th Colonia Pozo Jacob Performance/75 people
January 7 th San Jose Buenavista Performance/200 people
January 8th Colonia Los Angeles Performance/75 people
January 12th Meporsur Performance/200
January 13th Emiliano Zapata Performance/200
January 14th Zinacantan Performance/250
January 15th Altos De Maria Auxiladora Performance/300
January 16th El Cerillo Performance/200

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About the Author

Dianna Hahn, Director (Staff)

After having spent many years in awe of Clowns Without Borders, Dianna is thrilled to be a part of such a unique and valuable organization. Dianna spent five years working with Windsor Mountain Student Travel, providing intercultural education programs for high school students abroad. She has taught second grade at Marin Country Day School, au paired in Paris, led students to explore the Caribbean and studied traditional tattooing in Samoa. In addition to her new role as director of Clowns Without Borders, Dianna is pursuing her masters in International Education at the School For International Training. While not a clown, she loves to be silly and laugh, which is a nice perk of working with so many who clown around!