Merengue travels through Ciudad Juarez in his little clown van.

When the weather doesn't let him perform, he sells his self manufactured products in the city´s flea market.

I met Merengue thanks to a handmaid wood sign; I saw the sign for the first time after a shooting in the outdoors of a renamed commercial zone in Ciudad Juarez. It was a surprise for me, the presence of a clown in a rough city like this seems anachronistic. The sign was everywhere so I called him just for curiosity. Who is Merengue the clown and why does he invest his time in sharing his services in a place like this?

Merengue the clown lives in a small neighborhood in Ciudad Juarez, close to a juvenile county jail. It's easy to find his house thanks to his clown van, parked outside; surrounded by CD´s, pictures and handmade parfums all branded with his artistic name MERENGUE, I ask him why he became a clown.

¨I was born gifted but rough, I polished my own habilites with time and patience because to be a clown you need to study drama and oratory¨

Merengue was born in Xalapa, Veracruz, he is 50 years old; when he was 14 years old he wanted to be a comedian so he decided to move to Guadalajara where he got married and had children, there he became a clown.

He's a big fan of Juan Gabriel, a popular Mexican singer; he visited the famous salon NOA NOA to meet his hero; he used to wait at the front door just to run into him but it never happened. ¨I arrived in Ciudad Juarez by myself and I came here to meet Juan Gabriel¨ he explained to me. ¨After that I asked my family to come here with me, they came but my wife took the bad road, she became a criminal and lost herself into drugs¨

All of his shows are recorded in three volumes that he sells himself, these volumes are: Tu adiós o Venga tu soledad, Gracias Caridios por tanto amor, Tu inolvidable sonrisa; each one of them contains from 6 to 7 hours of shows.

When the weather allows it, Merengue gives four shows a week for children and adults but when there's cold he doesn't give any shows, on those days he dedicates to selling his CD´s and merch in a flea market. ¨Merengue is a chemistry and a clown: I stole the formulas and made the parfums¨.

Merengue works from sun to sun in a job he chose. He makes the wood signs, hangs them and drives non stop in Ciudad Juarez making everybody know that he's there with his outrageous van.

¨I want to be different; to be someone. I don't want to be one more of the million. I want to leave something, a legacy. I was born to triumph¨.