Clowning for Social Change

Patrix busting the old fashioned way.
Working in the heat and poverty of Nicaragua to help set up a micro economic engine for a education and nutrition project en Barrio de Santa Rosario, Granada:

One of the hardest part of development of any sort is seeing simple problems go unsolved because of cultural reasons.

While this issues is often pointed to with a scowl of "laziness" by some, there is a deep thread of truth in the idea that our culture often passes down habits of self and social oppression.
The matrix of patriarchial dominance and socio cultural patterns that lead to the perpetuation of unhealthy habits tied to old survival mechanisms is called the Patrix.

By opening the doors of perceptions to the possibility that old ways of seeing the world are potentially nothing more than oppressive habits passed down from the Patrix we can give ourselves the chance to shed old habits and meet the challenges of the day with verve, resilience and fresh intelligence.

One of the best, and oldest, ways of addressing stagnant socio-cultural habits is by calling in the ancient energy of the trickster. Coyote, Loki, Brer Rabbit, Buggs Bunny, and Jokers
to name just some of the many faces that weild the powerful energy of the clown to help teach lessons and change society.


Here is Barrio el Rossario on the outskirts of Granada Nicaragua, there are some significant hurdles for a child to overcome in order to have a real chance in the world.
Mal-nutrition, lack of education and sanitation issues to name a few.

And the Gorrioncitos project lead by Project Director Sandy Hepler is working on all fronts. But not without a sense of humor.
Enter the Gorrioncitos clown club: Los Payacitos.
Los Payacitos practice with Sandy learning acrobatics, juggling, clown tricks and jokes in perperation for a big skit that will poke fun at the neighborhood, the project, Sandy himself, the kids and all aspects of the project and the reasons for the project. This kind of clowning brings light to unresolved issues and allows for a kind of communication that is often times hard to find, and even harder to udnerstand without a little laughter.