More than 600 doctors in some 24 cities in the country are registered with Risaterapia (laughter therapy) A.C., a group that brings doses of medicine that smiling children take willingly.
The doctors put on clown suits and bring joy to the children in some 50 hospitals with not much to cheer for.
What motivates me is to see the smiles on these kids who are passing through a tough period, who don’t expect to see a clown sauntering down the hospital corridor,” said Enrique Cortes, better known as “Dr. Chuckles.”
This was the idea behind the founding of this organization by professional clown Andres Aguilar in 1999 and Risaterapia continues expanding through workshops in how to use joy as a medicine, including techniques at improvisation, use of the red nose and clown tricks among other tips. The doctors not only visit hospitals (in Guadalajara the two Hospital Civiles and the Centro Medico Nacional Occidente), but also old folks homes, orphanages.
You can find out more about the group (in Spanish) and donate on their web site: risaterapia.org on facebook/RisaterapiaMx