Wheels of mirth
On his arrival in Egypt, Ghada Abdel-Kader rushed to greet Bicyclown
The child of a devoutly Catholic family in Oviedo (Asturias), Alvaro Neil, lawyer, 40, says he was "born to be a clown". Seven years in a notary office in Madrid did not cure him of the urge to make people laugh, and against all odds he quit his job, sold his car and bought a bicycle -- by which means he has been touring the world to entertain the humble and the poor. Mosaw: Thousands of Smiles Around the World is the name of his project, which commenced on 19 November 2004 and should end -- after it has taken him through Asia, Australia, America and back to Europe -- in 2014.
The basic performance is one hour long and meant for adults as much as children; it involves magic, acrobatics and various other interactions. "I am not interested in making shows for rich people," Neil explains, "in order to make money and give it to NGOs. I am much more comfortable performing for ordinary children, who are more spontaneous and natural. You cannot buy my performance." And true to form, some 20 per cent of his performance time is improvised on the spur of the moment. Where people have never encountered clowns, he does his make-up within view of them "so they can see the transformation and accept me", and he stays in touch with civil institutions so he can find out about places where there are few cultural activities. In Tanzania, for example, he performed for 3,000 refugees. While in Egypt Neil will perform at the Alwan Wa Awtar Organisation in Muqattam as well as the St Joseph College; he will also be giving workshops for local wannabe clowns in a number of venues.
Neil himself learned while working as a clown with the Moscow Circus in Madrid and at Cirque du Soleil workshops elsewhere in Spain. He has been performing since 1989 and at university he did shows in his spare time, but he can only travel when he has the energy. The show, he says, is even more tiring than cycling. When he left Spain three years ago he headed first to South America where he covered 3,200km.
So far he has done 49 shows for the benefit of over 200,000 people; in Spanish, he wrote a best-selling book, Kilometres of Smiles, reflecting on his experience in South America, which has helped finance the project. Moving onto the Middle East -- which he was visiting for the first time -- he went on to entertain people in 30 different countries in Africa, the topic of his next book, a 300-page tome -- also to appear in Spanish, since there are as yet no resources for translation, though it should help finance further legs of the trip -- about life-changing encounters during his 1,000-day sojourn in Africa.
One story he is eager to include is how he survived malaria four times: "someone took me to hospital, otherwise I would have died. In Africa there is far more hospitality than in Europe, and people generally have trust." But the experience is never without the odd negative episode, which occasionally made him cry: "when I was in Sudan I went to pay for my visa but they wouldn't let me have it. They said I had to have a Sudanese person to guarantee that my stay would be secure. I had my $40 on me, I was extremely hungry and hot and I couldn't communicate with anyone, and when they said they weren't giving me the visa I broke down in tears. When you're alone you have very strong emotions, whether you're happy or sad. When you cry you could put your tears in a glass and drink up." Happily Neil is not entirely alone while he globetrots.
His three-year-long companion, Cuba, may be only a bicycle, but it carries his clothes, books, repair and make-up kits. Loyal as it may have been, he is likely to replace it in Cairo, since sponsors have offered him a new one for Asia. Neil covers some 60 per cent of his expenses but sponsors contribute up to 20 per cent; the rest he manages to gather up on the road. People provide him with food and shelter, besides which "someone might check my website and offer to help." His secret, he says, is a tiny budget of $200 per month. The daily routine begins with breakfast, followed by 100km from sunrise to sunset; when the highways are good, so is the going. Neil has occasionally spent up to three hours chatting with strangers on the way. On some days he stops to rest, wash his clothes and clean his bicycle. At 4pm he begins to ask around about the next town -- before then he has no idea where he will be sleeping. He cooks his rice and vegetables, washes, changes, reports on his progress to a newspaper in Spain and goes to sleep.
For its part, the show is something extra to look forward to: "I have no emotions while I perform, I just concentrate. I am alone. If I think about my emotions it will affect the show, but afterwards when I'm on the bicycle I realise that I never actually get bored -- I never tire of travelling, I'm always charged with energy. Nor would anyone get bored given the number of adventures to be had. Once, in northern Sudan, "I was sleeping in the desert where the silence was incredibly powerful. There was too much energy and too much darkness -- it was like sleeping on the moon -- for a few minutes it was as if there was no gravity. I just fell down onto the earth: no cars, no animals, no light. I felt totally alone." Travelling remains a dream come true, after all: "I change places, see new people, eat new food every day. I experiment with roads and weather. My life doesn't depend on having a car or a house, I carry all I need to live -- not many things, as I've learned."
Having encountered so many families, Neil sometimes yearns for one of his own. "But I don't regret not having a family," he says, "because it's a choice of my own free will. Life isn't always easy and this is part of the game -- you have to accept it." Neil thinks little of his own future, he has no clear idea of what will become of him once he has completed his plan and turned 47: "I don't know if I will go on cycling but I know I won't be a lawyer again. Not that I mind: I don't really think about the future." As befits a clown, Neil feels life is but a dream: "I don't mind dying because I'm living my dream."
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