I am joining the circus...

I know some of you already think I am in a circus or that I am really just a clown. However, this is serious, I have made some important decisions lately. After hours, days, weeks, months, years of reflecting on the need I have of a change I have come to the conclusion that I am not made for Grad School. Thus, I have decided life is too short and what I really want to do is to be a playwright and, as my intuition told me more than a decade ago, in order to do so I need to be an actor first. I did some amateur theatre in university as part of the Grupo de Teatro de la Universidad del Valle de Guatemala and eventually my one and only play was presented a couple of times, so there is a precedent of success on this avenue. I am selling all my stuff and sneaking out of Canada so my debtors don't catch me.

You see, life is the best school, and I have learned to play all these different characters throughout the years. Why not apply this knowledge and become a professional actor? I haven't decided yet if I am going to try my luck first here:

Although everyone tries to "make it" in that city and I haven't found the taste for musicals yet. There are alternatives, like trying to be part of the Guignol theatre in this other city:


But then again, my absurd delusions of grandeur would push me towards other cities, with the dream of acting or presenting my plays in places like this:


But really I will have to learn other trades like pickpocketing and work in areas full of unsuspecting tourists, like this one.


And then again, being around so many "artists" I may pick more than pockets and make my own paintings. This city above might feel too passée and the market too crowded. I will eventually will move to other places, like a nomad or a gypsy and sell my work in plazas like this one:


It seems I have a plan. I just need to stick to it.

Por inocentes
No, I am just pulling your leg! Because today is the Day of the Innocent Saints, which is the Guatemalan (do other countries celebrate it?) equivalent of April fool's day. El día de los inocentes actually has quite the macabre origin. For those of you who are Christian and/or paid attention in Sunday School or in Cathecism class, you will remember that Joseph had a warning from an angel telling him to take his wife and newborn child away to Egypt because Herod the king was murdering all the children under the age of two (I think) to get rid of potential competition. Herod had been alerted (unintentionally) by the Maggi of the birth of a new King and started the bloodshed. Well, the "Innocent Saints" are all these babies and toddlers that gave their lives to protect the Newborn King.

I have so many emotional imprints of trying to come up with good tricks to play on my brother and the rest of my family for the Day of the Innocents. There is usually a tongue-in-cheek column or fake news piece by some smarty-pants journalist that comes out this day. So, there you go, your "Traditions from Guatemala" minute along with some "exotic" photographs and a Bible lesson, what more can you ask from a post?