Clowning around comes to Santa Cruz and spreads its humour around Tenerife

Santa Cruz is to host the tenth edition of the Clownbaret International Festival from November 2nd to 13th in which 16 companies will take part.

This year’s comedy programme was revealed by in-sular director of culture, José Luis Rivero; deputy minister of culture for the Canary Government, Aurelio González; local councillor for culture, José Carlos Acha and festival director, Brian Rodríguez.

Sr. Acha said Santa Cruz would remain the epicentre of the festival as always but because of the increased following, the clowns would be going out to the municipalities of Guía de Isora, Adeje, San Juan de la Rambla, El Sauzal, Santiago del Teide and Vilaflor.

Festival director Brian Rodriguez thanked the cooperation received from the different administrations, saying: “It allows us to continue bringing clowns to the island; the more clowns we have in the world, the better.”

He also highlighted new activities to be carried out in order to appeal to new supproters. These will include work-shops and attrcations for children. The programme this year includes a total of 26 functions, three of which will be held in La Palma, two in Brena Alta and one in El Paso.

Another new trend is that the comedy acts are not just one person. Of the 16 companies, seven have more than one performer, ” a trend we want to continue to increase”, said Sr. Rodriguez.

Aurelio González said “humour is a fundamental tool to combat troubles” and therefore congratulated the organisers of this festival because “receiving culture when you’re having fun, is so much better.”

The International Clown-baret Festival (FIC) is a sample of humour and creativity of clown art which encompasses physical theatre, mime, music, magic, juggling and acro-batics.

When preparing the programme, the organisers pay special attention to the history, origin, quality, diversity and creativity in the contents.

Shows are aimed at a family audience: children, adoles-cents and adults of all ages.

Besides the main programme, the FIC has educational and social activities, such as functions and workshops for students and drama students; meetings with artists of great importance to the training of both professionals and students and amateur theatre; and conducting activities aimed at social inclusion of disadvan-taged communities.

The programme for this year is an emotional look back, showing the boundless range of styles and influences of the clown and jester.

Clowns of the highest calibre will be travelling to Santa Cruz for the festival, including Faemino and Cansado, Rob Torres, Johnny Melville, Tortell Poltrona, Asaco Producciones, Sterenn, Las Polis, The Chipolatas, Denni Denis Clownbaret and Abubukaka.

There will be open air performances in and around Santa Cruz and shows in various venues, including the Teatro Guimerá and the TEA, Tenerife Espacio de las Artes. So that as many sectors as possible can join in the fun, visits are being made to different centres for the elderly and hospitals.

All the workshops require pre-registration through the email address festinternacionalclownbaret@gmail.com