The Guarani-Kaiowá are one of Brazil’s largest Indigenous communities. They’ve survived forced displacement since the late 1800s and increased violence since the 1950s when private capital took over vast territories, replacing eco-diversity with monoculture plantations.

And, also, if we only see the Guarani’s pain, we miss learning about who they are — including their rich traditions of ceremony and song.

In September 2022, Clowns Without Borders (CWB) returned to the Guarani community of Southern Brazil to listen, learn, share art, and laugh together.

In this post, you’ll learn about the current conditions of the Guarani people and we’ll share insights from our art exchange (a term that fits better here than tour — read on and you’ll understand why).

The Guarani: Searching for ‘the land without evil’

Guarani ancestors told of a place free from pain and suffering called ‘the land without evil.’ And, for hundreds of years, their descendants searched for such a place.

They have yet to find it.

Instead, the Guarani have experienced territorial displacement on a massive scale. In Mato Grosso do Sul, the Guarani previously occupied 350,000 square kilometers of forests and plains. Today, 24% of the remaining Guarani population (12,000 of about 50,000 people) live in just 30 square kilometers (the Dourados Reserve).

The reserve lacks adequate land for crops, hunting, or fishing. For more on the Guarani’s forced removal from ancestral land, see our Brazil 2019 blog post.

‘Danger is experienced on an everyday basis’

Performing artist Julie Moore recounts one disturbing event:

Maybe two hours before CWB was to perform, we get word that the body of a 13-year-old-girl, who’s part of the community we’re performing for, has just been found.

The community asked that even with this news, we perform the show as planned.

The team delivered a performance full of empathy and gentleness.

Homicides and assaults are all too familiar in the Guarani community. And the government does not protect indigenous people from ranchers’ gunmen and militias. Perpetrators often go unpunished.

The community’s pain is real, and it’s ongoing.

CWB is a witness to the Guarani’s pain, and also their ceremony, song, and dance.

You love to laugh — and you know how much laughter has helped you through difficult moments.

You can give the gift of laughter to a child in crisis every month with a donation of just $11 monthly.

Joining Hands and Making Eye Contact, Rain or Shine

On tour, CWB is typically the first to offer a song. That wasn’t the case with the Guarani.

According to Julie Moore, the Guarani’s greeting was song and dance, “in every space we entered.”

For the team, the experience was vibrant, warm, and joyful.

If you want to learn about the significance of song to the Guarani people, I encourage you to check out the following article by Valéria Macedo, Anthropologist and Professor at Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Brazil. She began working with the Guarani in 2005 and her 2011 article is called Tracking Guarani songs: between villages, cities and worlds.

Feats of Juggling Feet: Sharing Clowning and Performance Art

CWB artists Tetê Purezempla (Brazil), Kauan Scaldelai (Brazil), Ludmila Lopes (Brazil), Julie Moore (US), and Orlene Carlos (US) were pleased as punch to share their performance art and witty shenanigans of the highest order with the Guarani.

There were saxophone tunes, tables tossed by a foot juggler, and lots of zany clownish humor.

Here are some of our favorite shots from the performances.

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Conclusion

CWB was honored to walk on the soil that the Guarani-Kaiowá are fighting for, exchange art, and listen to stories of both pain and joy.

CWB team members shared ‌17 performances, one workshop for those interested in the art of clowning, and one workshop for social workers. 

To see more program photos, check out our video montage below!

The indigenous community residing in Chiapas were oppressed in poverty and brutalized by the government of the time because of the land on which they live. The region where they reside and have for hundreds of years, is rich in minerals, water, and crops such coffee and cacao, but the indigenous people are among poorest and most marginalized in Mexico. Chiapas is a jewel, but the people and region have been taken advantage of by power, politics, and trade agreements. The Zapatista Revolution began in 1994 and was the locals way of saying, ‘we want autonomy.’ They succeeded in becoming autonomous, but at significant cost.

Rudi Galindo, a long-time volunteer, professional clown, and colleague of founder Moshe Cohen, is leading the team returning Chiapas this January for CWB-USA’s 100th project. Rudi has been traveling to share levity and moments joyful play, every year for nearly two decades. He is compelled to return and give the gift of laughter and to keep a promise.

Many years ago, on a trip to Chiapas, Rudi and another volunteer, David Lichtenstein, went to a displacement camp for the indigenous people seeking escape from recent massacres at the hands of the military. It was a wet and cold January. Thick mud coated the land. Rudi and David kept falling in the muck and mire as they performed for the audience in the displacement camp. Afterward, at the show’s end, they took their noses off and collected props preparing to exit. A hyper-emotional woman came up to Rudi and spoke rapidly to him in the indigenous language. She was anxious and animated, and Rudi called for someone to translate. What the woman said impressed upon his soul forever. She exclaimed, “I’m frightened that you’re going to leave. I feel so much safer when you are here! Because everyone is laughing and at peace, so we all forgot to be afraid. Please, do not go!” It was tearful for everyone, Rudi and David included.

Rudi was so moved that he vowed to come back, and return he has, every year since 1995.

The Zapatista Revolution is quiet now, and while it may not be over, the guns are no longer pointed, and the people of Chiapas have found a new normal. In their autonomy, they work hard to administer government and services. They have taken the concept of education and applied it on a larger scale–both for children and adults. Human rights for all is the cornerstone of their governance. They govern by respecting the earth, each other, the woman and the child. This remarkable place is unique, and if you travel there, it seems as if you’ve left Mexico and entered a different world. It’s a place where the people look noticeably different from Mexicans and where their mannerisms, language, and culture distinguish them as indigenous. It is a place where Rudi is forever connected to the people.

We encourage you to ally with the people of Chiapas, too. You can follow our milestone project updates, photos, and videos on our social media pages and explore with the clowns. Visit our page about Mexico to delve into the library of information about our past work in Chiapas.

Thank you for your continued support! Make a gift and help fund the team traveling to Chiapas. Share this blog!