The annual Festival de Mayo, a cultural oleo dispersed around various parts of Guadalajara, returns Friday, May 4 and runs through Friday, May 25.
Each year, the festival features artists from various countries; this time around, the invited nations are France, Canada (more specifically, Quebec) and Poland.
Street theater and the circus/clown arts have long been a staple of the Festival de Mayo, much of which emanates from Quebec, the birthplace of, most notably, Cirque de Soleil. Details of this year’s festival indoor offerings can be found on pages 20 and 21 of this edition. Here’s a listing of free, outdoor shows for the general public.
Friday, May 11, 6 p.m., 8 p.m.: Bravissimo, a show sure to poke your funny bone from the eponymous Guadalajara-based troupe, founded in 2009. Estacion Juarez (6 p.m.) and Explanada Teatro Degollado (8 p.m.).
Saturday, May 12, 11 a.m.: Fuoco di Strada, a Guadalajara circus company formed in 2006, present a cavalcade of clowning, mime and kinesthetic wizardry. Tianguis Cultural, adjacent to Parque Agua Azul.
Saturday, May 12, from 7:30 p.m.: Circo Dragon, another contemporary circus group, fuses dance with theater and acrobatics. Plaza de la Liberacion. Cirko Alebrije, a circus troupe whose emphasis is on clowning and acrobatics. Plaza de Liberacion. Cabaret Capricho, a mix of cabaret and clowning featuring audience participation.
Sunday, May 13, 11 a.m.: Claunodromo, a clown troupe founded in 2012 which mixes the customary tomfoolery with biting social commentary. Plaza Fundadores (behind the Degollado).
For more information about the rest of Festival de Mayo’s program of events, consult festivaldemayo.org.