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Jul 22 2025
Visiting with performers after the musical.
While being in Ecuador, I’ve noticed how people value their history. It was so impressive and inspiring to see how much they know about their history. They’re not afraid to share it, even through their art.
During my first weekend of service, I had the privilege to see “Viaje al Cero de la Tierra,” which translates to “Journey to the Zero of the World.”
This show tells the story of the French Geodesic Mission to the equator through song and circus acts. It follows the French explorers who were tasked with the job of measuring the distance of the world. The musical is factual and family friendly as they use a lot of humor to make the story more digestible. The actors, who were also the band members at the same time, were incredibly talented and successful at telling the story in a way I’ve never seen before.
The set was made up of metal cubes with sheets, a board, and some rope.
While watching, I was amazed at the talent and creativity that went into this musical. They had circus props only, which consisted of balls, juggling pins, and a balance stand as seen in the picture above. Because of this, they had to think up unique ways to help make the story come to life. For example, the actors would ride on each others’ shoulders to signify horse transportation. They positioned themselves uniquely to resemble certain objects, like a tree or table. They moved the cubes around in unique positions to mimic locations like a big boat, or a mountain. Some of them did circus tricks around them to resemble a treacherous journey. Even the items juggled were symbolic to the story. Everything was well thought out.
Overall, this was a very fun and educational experience, not just for the history, but also for the theatre making that went into making such a wonderful performance.
Last week Pope Leo XIV issued his first major writing to the global Catholic church, an Apostolic Exhortation – an urgent word of encouragement – on love for the poor, Dilexi Te. As a Mennonite, this theme caught my attention.
We have experienced another hard week of gun violence in America. For me, it has been a week of intense emotions – heavy emotions as well as joy and hope. How do we escape the doom loop? How do we stop partaking when it is dished up to us from all sides of the media and culture that we swim in?
Goshen College’s “SST for all” makes global education more accessible with flexible study options at home and abroad.