Papeluxo the clown paints a red nose and a smile and takes to the track ... without an audience. Blocked in England by the coronavirus, the Cuban circus Big Kid survives by taking the saying "the show must go on" into cyberspace.

Despite being Chilean, Papeluxo, whose real name is Italo Magno Franco Sepúlveda, is one of the 25 artists that the Big Kid circus brought to the United Kingdom in February from Cuba, recruited from Havana, Guantánamo or Villa Clara .

Under the title Circus de Cuba this "is the first time that we bring a totally Cuban show," manager Julia Kirilova proudly explains to the AFP. Upon arrival "they had two weeks of rehearsals and only performed ten times ", before London ordered to cancel all shows in March, he regrets.

Later, Cuba closed its borders to protect itself from the coronavirus and, while touring the northwest of England, they were blocked in the small coastal town of Morecambe .

"This situation surprised us all, we did not return to Cuba because we did not think it would last that long" and "well we don't have a job there right now and we did have one here," acknowledges Luis Villalón, one of the acrobats.

The beach, "a salvation"

The show, a journey with a Creole flavor through the life of the island, is made up of acrobats, tightrope walkers and trapeze artists . There are no animals, but there is a lot of music and dancing. And that joy has not been lost despite the fact that they are now confined in their caravans, installed next to the big red tent in a park in Morecambe near the sea.

"Morality is going well, we always have something to do, one is always inventing," says Luis, who feels lucky to be able to go for a walk on a beach that reminds him of Cuba. "It is a salvation" despite the cold, he jokes.

Couples live in small caravans. The others share a room, two or three, in large trailers. An improvised baseball game, a shared meal, the important thing is "not to fall into monotony," says Villalón. "Everyone here is one big family."

The three children of Olimpia, the "ringmaster", are the only children in the circus : they go out little and "they take good care of themselves," she says.

the artists keep rehearsing

To stay active, the artists keep rehearsing. Although with caution, because an accident can now be very problematic.

"The acrobats take great care of injuries, falls , because we know that if something happens, God forbid, we have to go to the hospital and the situation in hospitals here is even more complicated now," admits Luis, who his 28 years he has been a professional for six years.

Despite the 18,000 pounds (20,600 euros) that their work visas cost , "since they are not European citizens or British residents, they cannot benefit from the help" that the Boris Johnson government offers to unemployed employees due to confinement, he explains Kirilova.

So they survive by doing what they do best. They dress in their shiny suits, put on makeup and go to the empty tent to do somersaults or hang upside down: they record their shows on video, three different ones so far, and sell them on the internet .

However, their website, created a few weeks ago, is still little known and they depend on local solidarity to get ahead . With their tight work pants and torso in the air, three of the acrobats, who barely speak a few words of English, collect the plastic boxes full of food that have been donated by a food bank .

"The people of Morecambe have helped us a lot," says Villalón. "We are very grateful to these people. People come here every day and leave us food, leave us clothes, what they can." "We feel lucky to have so much support."

They were to perform in the UK until October and then travel with their show to Malaysia. But "now that the situation has changed, we are not sure," says Kirilova.

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