On Friday, July 13th, the Revolution for Harmony Circus Tour–made up of teenage performers from St. Louis and Puerto Rico–entered their fourth day of performing all over the island, in communities still hurting from Hurricane Maria. The municipality of Comerío, situated 200 meters above sea level up in the mountains, is difficult to reach, especially for a large van full of circus kids.
The main road was closed down due to the recent Tropical Storm Beryl, so the Revolution for Harmony vans had to take smaller, winding, roads up the mountain.
“The drive was uncomfy, and long…it was actually really pretty though,” said Jahlah Baum of the St. Louis Arches. The roads scared some of the performers, though they all made it out alright.
“We almost died. Write that down. It’s Friday, July 13th, at 3:11, and we almost died in Comerío,” Coralys Vasquez Sierra, a performer with la Escuela Nacional de Circo de Puerto Rico, shouted. But they arrived safe in Barrio Paloma, the population center of Comerío, ready to perform for the people of the town.
Edgardo Larregui Rodríguez, visual artist and founder of the Coco de Oro documentary project, organized this with Circus Harmony and ENCPR. The nonprofit he founded, the Coco de Oro project, is nearly 20 years old, and works within the Palomas neighborhood, and in the Vuelta del Dos area.
“This is a very beautiful community, and a community that has very much been destroyed by the hurricane,” Rodriguez said. Coco de Oro, La MaraNYA, and Defend Puerto Rico are three organizations that work together towards independence for Puerto Rican communities, and towards post-hurricane reconstruction.
“I established Coco de Oro. The purpose of the organization is to develop creative thought, development, and criticism in the communities, in their people. To create a more in-depth version of how to lift ourselves up, of how to create solidarity, of how to be self-sustaining, with the resources that surround us,” Rodriguez explained. “This is part of the fight for independence, both for individual human beings, and for the country.”
To create that independence, Rodriguez is one of many in the Comerío community who are helping develop small businesses and educate the population. For example, he and Coco de Oro are creating a hostel and community center in an old abandoned building–of which there are many in Comerío after the hurricane–and a cafe to be run by the town’s youth, which will teach them business skills.
And how does circus fit into all this? Rodriguez believes that circus, and all art, is able to lift communities up and create connection. That’s why he connected with the Revolution for Harmony tour, he said–for the good of his community.
“Art, what unites us in our community, is an activation of the abandoned spaces. It’s an action of reclaiming community, which becomes an art,” said Rodriguez. “It’s not just drawing, or painting, or making sculptures, but a vision of community, of uniting people to make public spaces better, or to imagine the possibilities of an abandoned space to encourage people to become active, to get away from their houses, to get away from their television.”
Therefore, even if it means taking a van up winding narrow mountain roads, bringing art to communities like Comerío is worth it.
Lizaimi Rivera, also of Comerío, agrees. She says that the efforts to bring her town together–through rebuilding, and storytelling, and even through (in this case) a circus performance on the basketball court–have made them stronger than they were before the hurricane came through town.
“Now, the community is much stronger than before. Many people who didn’t share before, do now. We’ve developed different groups of leaders, each person has a different mission as a leader, so we can touch many facets of the community, for the good of the community.”
