We drove about an hour from our hotel to a very forsaken city in the middle of nowhere. The last part of the road was dirt and steep hills. Then out of nowhere, a prison appears. Actually three prisons near each other. IT was awesome to pull up to the main gate and have the guard expecting you with all the documents in hand. So different from Rio where every prison visit was a massive fight. The main office had contacted us to ask us to do a tour here. Originally the requested we visit 20 units, but at the time because of our current budget, we could only stay a week and do 5.
We did two performances at this one. The first one was for inmates ages 18 to 25, the second was all mixed. Both of them went really well and were warmly received. They had invited directores and judges and social workers from other units to watch as well and everyone was really moved by our performance and grateful. They want us to work here in the future. The men were so grateful and its always really hard to say goodbye and see them being taken away. They gave us some really cool gifts they made for us that I will always keep. One of our acts is a comedy routine about a “:soccer player ” and a “dog:” who steals his ball. In it both the actors take of a coat revealing the two rival soccer teams of the city we are in. The cheer and laughter is defining.
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