Circo de Poesia in Los Angeles

Introduction

Since 1998 Circo de Poesia was the result of sometimes prepared, sometimes spontaneous collaborative works such as events, encounters, trips, homages and a number of other very special gatherings full of magic and inspiration. Each of them practically doubled our audience every time one was invited.

At the beginning of 2002, out of real necessity, we started a Workshop that lasted six months and we ended the year with “Bizarre Bazaar”, a Multimedia Event produced and executed in two weeks, with the intention, for the first time, to help a Specific Cause.

But on 2003, we started working differently. We wrote Chronicles of the Poetry Circus, a compilation of our Trajectory since 1998. We began asking ourselves about the bonds that maintained us interested in Circo de Poesia. 

This led to the first big production undertaken by Circo which culminated in The Midst of the Hierophant, Circo’s 5th anniversary event. From material gathered at this event, a Documentary –still in the works- was commissioned.

In this Documentary we wanted to be more specific about our Proposition, a Proposition that‘s derived from our own history. Circo de Poesia’s Proposition is humanistic, artistic and philosophical. It began to be written with Chronicles, it’s being written right now and will be written about for as long as Circo exists. It’s what Circo has to offer, it is what Circo has gotten out of its own experiences, and it’s what Circo stands for.

Near the end of 2004, a second round of workshops was started with the intent of focusing the work on our own group dynamic. Through a method called Appreciative Inquiry Approach the group tried looking at itself once again, trying to solidify our common goals and interests. The result of this workshop was the internal document Are You Circo? which was presented as a finished booklet inviting Circo participants to the first organizational meeting in July 11th, 2005.

Along with this document a detailed agenda was introduced where Alicia Villa and Sergio Martinez proposed to transform Circo de Poesia from a collective of friends materializing events and projects with their common assets and skills and turn it into a full-fledged enterprise.