Fall, 2017…or 1817…or 1617…Spain.

I was exploring the Old Town of Madrid, without a particular destination in mind, slowly absorbing the flavor of the city and trying to imagine what life was like there centuries ago.

The narrow streets of El Madrid de los Austrias (Habsburg era Madrid) guided me toward the huge Plaza Mayor, the city’s original town square. As there are nine gates and ten entrances leading to it from every direction, this place is impossible to miss. Philip II wanted it grand, and it is said that as many as fifty thousand people would crowd the Plaza during his reign. The Playa Mayor, or Main Square, located not far from the famous Playa del Sol was conceived in 1577 by him to remodel the old and chaotic Plaza del Arrabal.

There are many town squares, city centers and plazas throughout the world and they are all filled with artists, merchants, thieves and those that are stuck somewhere in between. This square is lively but not as overcrowded today. Tourists mill about in awe as waiters attempt to lure them into their tourist trap of choice. Merchants peddle cheap souvenirs as a thousand different “artists” pretending to be statues, hoping that the first sucker will come over and take a picture with them. I can’t say I don’t love it.

I knew that the Plaza was infamous, especially as a center of executions during the Inquisition, which, at that time, was one of the main forms of medieval entertainment, even illustrated by Francisco Rizi in 1683. And, I am sure, as the center of the city, it hosted its fair share  of public entertainment.

From my place in the middle of the Plaza it was easy to get lost in time. Were these same merchants always here? How about the artists, the jesters, the entertainers, all performing their craft? I mean – people needed entertainment back then as much as they do now. Before TV, before the internet, before our phones could deliver happiness in the blink of an eye, the town square was the YouTube of its day.

While lost in thought, I caught a glimpse of something odd out of the corner of my eye.

A man was riding into the Playa on a bicycle that had a toilet for a bike seat. In fact the whole bike looked like it was put together from scratch, built by a mad genius – definitely avant-garde. And this man was riding through the Plaza with a carefree attitude, like he was just part of the crowd.

As he stopped close to the center of the square, strategically placed among the tourists, he hopped off the bike and proceeded to change his costume into that of a vagabond clown, timeless in his appearance, as though he packed the last three hundred years of entertainment into one look. All while humming a happy tune, reminiscent of Dick Van Dyke in the Disney classic Marry Poppins.

I just had to see where this was going, as did the crowd that began to gather around him.

After he changed into his turn of the century clown outfit, as if no one was around, he brought the crowd of curious, yet cautious onlookers closer. And closer, and closer – making a square frame around him, all through improvisation, jokes and a little sarcasm. Right off the bat he involved the people into his performance, as opposed to peddling the same, boring routine to everyone who comes across.

Then he started his performance (or had he already?). And it was anything but routine.

He played a symphony with a few clown horns. He took people from the crowd and played off them as though they were actors in his play. His improvisation was killer and right on target. He teased without making fun of people. He lightened the mood and made the crowd feel comfortable as if they were all part of his act.

With every step, with every gesture he took his brand of theater further into the bizarre. He began to pull out countless items, all made from rudimentary household objects like showers, faucets, power tools, and kitchen utensils – you name it. Once made to grade cheese it was now made to make music. A former shower head was now a trombone.

The Playa Mayor was not his stage, it was his world and he pulled the crowd deeper and deeper into it. It seemed so natural, so effortless yet so entertaining that it captured the hundreds of people that packed this famous old square.

All these things were coming together in a truly original performance – or was this the same act that was performed for centuries all around the world?

How many people were inspired to perform here, and bring joy to the countless who have witnessed such a performance?

After all, street entertainment is as old as the cities it is performed in, as old as civilization. All throughout time we have found ways to entertain ourselves or entertain others. And it all started in the town square, the beating heart of civilized society.

After all, that is what a town square is, a place of gathering for all citizens. The cornerstone of our civilization. Of our lives.

I continued to stand there, on the Playa Mayor – the heart of the old city, contemplating how our society is progressed by those who think outside the box, about those trying to bring something new or push the bounds of tradition while still holding true to it.

And when all is said and done, every time an artist’s work is completed, our minds are freed as we yearn for something new to distract us, to give us a little more to live for. That is the very nature of art and entertainment. Especially when entertainment goes one step further, truly touches us deep down and makes time itself stand still as we embrace the pure joy of laughter.

Pure entertainment, pure happiness, pure art. That is, after all, the very thing that makes life worth living.