In 2001, Peruvian actress/clown Wendy Ramos discovered, after twelve years performing in theater and television, that hospital clowning existed in other countries, so she investigated. Her search led her to Patch Adams, who from day 1, encouraged her to start hospital clowning in Lima.
During that time, Wendy contacted Juan Pedro Romera, director of the Pupaclown in Murcia (Spain), who generously provided her with detailed information on hospital clown work. She found Romera’s style so interesting that she travelled to Spain to see their work up close. She was fascinated!
After months of intense research and organization, the project Doctores Bolaroja was born, fulfillling Wendy’s dream. The project was presented to the Children’s Health Institute, which opened its doors to the clowns with great enthusiasm.
On January 8th, 2002, the first Doctores Bolaroja visited children in the dermatology and nephrology wards, and continued every Tuesday and Saturday. There was an immediate positive response, such that other areas in the hospital demanded clown visits by the Doctores Bolaroja. Sometimes, nurses would even “kidnap” Doctores in the hallways to visit their wards. The feedback was so positive, people were having such a good time, that inevitably, the clown group started to grow.
In clown school, (www.bolaroja.net) students trained to develop their clowning skills. Doctores Bolaroja currently visit the following hospital wards: dermatology, nephrology, rheumatology, general medicine, traumatology, chest and heart surgery, gastroenterology, and D medicine.