Clowning Around In the Main Square

Carlos suggested several good places to eat in Morelia for dinner. He especially liked one restaurant that was close to my hotel. I walked through Morelia's main square and happened upon some clowns doing loud skits of physical comedy. They had drawn a large crowd so I stopped to watch and videotape their act.

Well, once again I stuck out like a sore thumb. The tall, pale, white guy with no hair was a perfect target for some clowning. They called out to me and brought me over to where they were performing in the middle of the crowd. They spoke a little English and asked me where I was from. I said "Chicago". Almost immediately they both shouted out "Chicago si! – bang, bang Italiano!". I said "no, no". Then they guessed "Francias?, Germano? (as the other clown put his finger under his nose and goose stepped around ala' Heil Hitler). I said "no, no, I'm Irish". "Oh Irish!" one clown shouted. "So you like the cerveza". "Si mucho" I stated loudly with a big smile much to the crowd's delight.

His next question was "You like Mexican women?". I said, "No I am married" and pointed to my wedding ring. Both clowns shrugged as if to say "so what" and asked again "So…you like Mexican women?" One clown asked if he could videotape me. I gave him my camera and he started laughing and running away. I played along since this was actually pretty fun. He came back and his partner started playing a few more games with the camera. They finally let me off the hook and shook my hand to big applause from the crowd. When I reviewed the tape later I found out to my dismay that I only got the part where the clown grabbed my camera and ran. They must have accidentally pressed the "stop" button when they were doing the rest of their gags. Oh well, it was still a riot …and a good memory.

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