Fair has Olvera Street crawling with clowns

Scores of people in outlandish costumes, colorful wigs and bulbous red noses transformed a portion of downtown Los Angeles into a circus Sunday to honor a traditional Mexican holiday that pays tribute to the comical buffoons who make us laugh.

The annual Dia de los Payasos -- Day of the Clowns -- held in the Olvera Street Plaza, attracted large crowds of onlookers who laughed at the antics of nearly 60 clowns drawn from as far away as Phoenix, Las Vegas and San Francisco.

The morning started with a blessing of the participants at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels before the daylong performance.

Some of the clowns sang and did silly dances, some played squawking instruments and many interacted with children who were delighted to be a part of the show. The plaza was a sea of wigs and faces painted red, blue, yellow, pink, green, purple and every shade in between.

One clown walked through the crowd sporting a huge black cowboy hat, brown buckskin, blue jeans and 2-foot-long black cowboy boots.

Brian Aguilar, 12, dropped by the plaza with his mother after attending Mass at the cathedral and was enthralled. He had never been to a circus or seen clowns before.

“It’s hard to pick out a favorite because everyone is funny,” he said.

Dia de los Payasos is traditionally an event that coincides with Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe, an important religious and cultural commemoration in Mexico and the rest of Latin America, which will be celebrated in L.A. on Dec. 11 and 12.

Alejandro Martinez, who organized the clown event, said it is a day for families to share laughter and for clowns to give thanks to the Virgen for a good year.

“Humor is for all people, and this is an event where kids and families can enjoy something together,” said Martinez.

His clown name is Pompeyo Pompis Clown, an allusion to the Roman city, and Martinez styles himself as the gladiator of fun. He said he’d wanted to be a clown since he first saw them performing on the streets of Mexico. “I liked what I saw and I said if I have to work, why not as a clown.”

Other clowns have adopted names as fanciful as their costumes. Angel Fernandez goes by the name Cepillon -- which roughly translates to giant toothbrush. The San Jose resident specializes in magic, juggling and ventriloquism and has performed in venues as far away as New York and Chicago.

“What I love most is being able to bring happiness to children,” said Fernandez, 50. But there is also some truth to the stereotype of the sad clown, he admitted.

“For clowns, just like everybody else, there are times that are hard. But we have to get through that and make other people laugh.”

For Augusto Vivanco and his son Augusto Jr., 16, clowning is a family affair. Father and son -- known by their clown names Petete and Mosquito -- work together and specialize in musical performances. Augusto Jr., who attends Eisenhower High School in Rialto, began working when he was 2 and has performed in circuses and on television. But he said his classmates don’t believe he’s a clown, even when presented with evidence of his clown paraphernalia.

“They’re skeptical, but I love it,” said Augusto Jr., who eventually wants to get a college degree in music. “Even when I’m not being a clown I like to joke around. I’m just happy to be part of a proud tradition.”

carla.rivera@latimes.com