Meet JoJo Guevara | Director of Hobo Circus

We had the good fortune of connecting with JoJo Guevara and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi JoJo, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
Authenticity is by far my top principle for my art and career. There’s times where I’m uncertain if a piece of my work will attract an audience, or be well received, even just simply appreciated. In those moments, I have passing thoughts of changing what I made to better fit mainstream, but it immediately becomes counter-intuitive for me. I have always told myself, even if I am the only one who will ever love my art, I will have the utmost respect for myself for staying genuine to my own brand. It’s immensely understandable to seek external validation, I believe we as human beings naturally want that sense of acceptance, at least among our peers and esteemed elites. However, there’s been such a congestion of templated content, I feel the urgency to bandwagon is even more so prevalent because the results are fast and enormous. Artists and other freelance creators obviously need to work, we need to make a living, and that does mean intertwining the current form of marketing, understanding what it is people of today are interested in and how are they likely to ingest it. It’s balancing on a tight-rope of staying inline with your originality or falling off into the open space of commonality. There’s also the nuances of popularity, most people aren’t searching the depths to find the underground and upcoming, they want what’s already discovered, which means that’s where they’re most likely to invest their time, money, and overall loyalty. We experience it even among our own community, when Mary next door opens her bakery and struggles to have people come in, yet a 2 star commercial chain that’s 5 miles away always has lines through the street. Can Mary sleep at night knowing she’s not making enough to afford rent, but at least her pastries are authentic? To me, authenticity not only takes immense appreciation and love for your craft, but great strength and courage to believe in yourself enough to know that your work is great, and your work will succeed, and even though our society has been constructed to take what’s fast and easy and common, you can still get your voice heard, you can still play the game and be true to yourself. You must be wise, but you never have to be artificial.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Hobo Circus was created out of exploring my own form of expression, through infusing all the creative mediums I love. It has become the materialization of my need to be connected to my inner most artistic self. I believe what sets me apart from others is similar to what sets one fingerprint apart from another, we each have our own individual design, Hobo Circus is just my own fingerprint that I choose to share with the world. I am so proud to see how much my brand has grown, how it has evolved, the recognition being received, but it definitely wasn’t easy and truly it still isn’t. I’ve faced both external and internal challenges and I have to keep learning how to adjust, how to ignore, how to accept, and how to persevere through the adversary. I’ve learned the importance of being your biggest supporter, how fundamental it is to dedicate your time to your craft, and above all, to keep it “play”, never “work”. I think I only want the world to know that I too exist, Hobo Circus is here, and this the world I have created.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My absolute favorite places to take friends visiting would be the entire Magnolia Strip, in Burbank. We’d grab food at the delicious Italian restaurant “Pinocchios”, then head to Halloween Town, where it is Halloween all year long. There’s so many cute cafes and vintage retail stores in that area, I love to just stroll up and down the entire street. Night life, I love the hidden eccentric spots like Good Times at Davey Waynes, Lock & Key, The CIA (California Institute of Abnormal Arts), or anywhere in weho. There’s beautiful hiking trails up by Woodland Park, Chino Hills area that always has such a great view of the city. Visiting the Museum of Death is always wild, especially with people who had no idea something like that even existed. The Last Bookstore I think is an absolute must. They have books from every known and unknown genre, but also incredible art and music that totally immerses you into an entirely different world. Venice Beach used to have the “Freak Show”, a sideshow of abnormal performers, which was also a favorite of mine to go, and it’s such a shame they’re no longer there.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to dedicate this shoutout to my sister, Sary Doeur. Sary has been my partner in crime for almost 15 years, she has always been not only supportive in every endeavor of mine, but has contributed so much of her own time and talents to help me bring to life these crazy ideas. I can’t even begin to imagine the kind of person I would be, or what I would have been able to accomplish, without having her in my life. Besides the tremendous support, Sary has shown me true unconditional love the entire time we’ve known each other. She has been the main motivation to set out on all of my goals, and always filled me with the belief that I truly can do all I set my heart on. I love her with every bit of my being. Thank you so much Sary.

Website: https://hobocircusproduction.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hobocircus/

Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/smallshe/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/itshobocircus

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hobocircus

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HoboCircus

Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10526454/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Image Credits
Camron Verbarg Fabi Jimeno Bobby Zabala