In Barranca the Army sows “laughter for peace”
csn-madison, april 10, 2002
From: The Vanguardia Liberal
By Janeth Montoya M
Barrancabermeja
In the last 13 days in Barrancabermeja no less than 20,000 children
have had the opportunity to laugh to tears because of a circus, that
like the best international shows has everything, including, even with
the only dog in the world that is capable of dancing the well known
song “Pirulino.” The spectacle lasts two hours and at the
end the little ones confess that their stomach muscles hurt because
they haven’t stopped laughing during the last 120 minutes.
And it is precisely that which is the reason why for the last 9 years
the military circus Laughter for Peace has performed, an initiative
supported by the 5th brigade of the army that has arrived to the most
far-flung places in its jurisdiction. In one occasion they went even
as far as San Juan Bosco, where there is no road, meaning that they
had to bring the 25 tons needed for the show in four helicopter trips.
The circus show that arrived to Puerto Petrolero thirteen days ago has
allowed everyone, big and small, to enjoy the presentation of the dragon
man, the trapeze, the iron lungs, knife throwing, the death spin, the
Japanese wave, the monologues, pantomimes, and of course the traditional
clowns Chistorete, Chanpetin, and Bombillo.
But the matter doesn’t stop there, since those in charge of bringing
a smile to the population of scarce resources are the same soldiers.
In this case, a group of 20 soldiers, chosen for their talent from the
battalions attached to the Fifth Brigade, assure that their social labor
has harvested fruit because of the daily winning of the hearts of the
young, and as a prize they take the biggest smile, assures Jeison, one
of the performers. “The circus was stopped almost two years
because it didn’t have a pavilion, but even so the show went on.
Last December the Fifth Brigade got the pavilion and we immediately
started the tour, each one lasts a month,” explained the second
sargent Eduardo Carvajal Chilatra.