There are those who are passionately dedicated to the business of seducing the spirits of all those who come to his show with the voice of: "Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, come to the great circus of the Vázquez Brothers!"
For some, the circus is part of an unknown Mexico, since the legends and myths that have been generated around the circus show and life can scare the most painted. The hairy woman, the six-legged horse and some other "attractions" were perhaps, in some distant time, presented as the headliner. The truth is that nowadays highly prestigious Mexican circus families such as the Vázquez, the Atayde and the Fuentes Gasca, win awards around the world in recognition of their great talent and exceptional work.
Endless movement
To enter a circus tent is to enter the world of fantasy. So many times we have heard this phrase that we no longer listen to its message, but in reality, it is. As Alfred used to say, “even if you don't believe it”, the circus is another world, that of fantasy. Also the theater, the cinema, or a good book can, without a doubt, transport us to a fantastic world but, which of them is betting a giant nomadic tent to tell its story in an endless movement?
Everything happens overnight. At the chosen place, large trailers are arriving that carry the world of the circus, while, in the trailers, those who bring it to life arrive. The place where the tent is set up is always a wide, empty field, the kind that, before the arrival of the circus, did not have such a generous use as entertainment.
Aurora, daughter of the mainstay of the Circo Hermanos Vázquez, Mr. Guillermo Vázquez, is the one who undertakes the task of searching and finding the right space to set up a tent and show and, although she does not perform any act on the track, the task of convincing neighbors and authorities that the circus will bring good things to the community, it is almost as risky as the Pendulum act and as difficult as the Pulsed, but since she has sawdust in her veins, she makes circuses and ropes to continue with this tradition.
Once there, more than a hundred men begin, under the shelter of the stars, the arduous task of raising the tent under the command of a foreman, who here is called Claudia Ortiz, to whom by the way we owe our now flowery circus vocabulary that includes words such as: stop, grave, held, staked, Apaches, palomeras ...
At sunrise
The retained ones, well secured towards the stake, attest to the hard work of all those who have participated in the “stop”. And there is already, standing, a giant and striking tent that surprises the residents of the place who would swear they had seen the vacant lot just the night before.
You can already see the zoo, the trailer for the power plant (which is a showcase that is part of the show), the figure of an elephant covered by thousands of tiny mirrors that reflect the sunlight and at night, the of hundreds of spotlights that adorn the circus. The box office is also visible, adorned with bright colors, lights and photographs that tell stories. The fences are also there, already standing, separating reality from fantasy, because behind them are the houses where the inhabitants of the circus lead their wandering lives.
Everything in order and the Vázquez family, the foreman and the hundred men, all they want is to sleep, but they will not be able to, it is the day of the debut, so they will have to wait until the last performance of the day.
Let the show begin!
One track, no longer sawdust. Grandstand, without tables. The circus has changed. Today the track has a canvas, so the public feels more comfortable not breathing that fine wood dust that those who do circuses carry in their veins. In the stands we now see chairs, individual and comfortable, so the cushions were forgotten.
All set. Announcer, artists, sound engineer, live music orchestra and of course the Apaches, who do what they have always done, run back and forth: animals, behind-the-scenes action, canvases, ropes, tramoya, apparatus and what there are no “dead” spaces during the performance.
The lights go out, the orchestra begins to play and a deep and lively voice welcomes us to the great Circus of the Vázquez Brothers. Thus begins the show. In the center of the track there are people, not characters, we know their names and we exchange smiles.
We see the world parade down the dance floor represented by artists like Tian Ye, a Chinese acrobat; The Caluga, Chilean clowns with a lot of school and sympathy; from Argentina, Nenucho, who with his charisma and his art in Argentine folklore conquers the public. Several times, Raúl González, a very versatile young Mexican, appeared on the dance floor. He presents acts with camels as well as llamas, giraffes and horses.
The one that impresses us the most is, as he says “proudly Mexican”, José Alberto Vázquez Atayde, who is the 2nd best juggler in the world in the youth category. At 17 years old, he has won awards of great importance, such as the one that Princess Estefanía herself gave him during the international circus festival in Monaco, who said: “The young Mexican juggler was the one I liked the most, he has charisma and desire succeed".
There are also tigers, horses, camels, animals of great nobility that participate in circus acts with a mixture of will and resignation; maybe a little more than the first one and David Vázquez knows that well, a brave tiger trainer who understands Lucas, Lola and Chica well and knows that any of these three cats could attack him and injure him irretrievably if he wanted to.
In this traditional circus a story is not told, there is no relationship between one act and another, the presenter is the one who introduces us to each artist and each number. The technological deployment is not the one that today is shown in this new "circus-theatrical" trend that has caused a furor, however, the devices used for acts such as the Pulsed, to cite just one example, have very high technology. sophisticated. They have all the latest generation technical elements, as well as highly trained professionals, such as the sound engineer specializing in environmental acoustics Eduardo Quintana, who is capable of sounding the most sophisticated of shows and who told us that the most difficult job he has ever done. performed is that of the circus: “There are temperature changes due to the material of the tent, which is a membrane that doubles the sound in both directions. We are also on three different types of floor; the rain makes itself heard, in short, the circus has been my hardest job and best school ”.
Until next time
That myth of the clown who laughs on the outside and cries on the inside are only fantasies of those who have not had the opportunity to get close to this world. Everyone we spoke with said they love the wandering life, live intensely the acts on the track and thank the circus for giving them the opportunity to live wonderful and, of course, unique experiences. The Circo de los Hermanos Vázquez, founded in 1969, has visited several countries in Latin America and is the only Mexican circus that presents its traveling show in the United States, touring it as they say: “From north to south, from east to west presenting the best artists in the world ”.
Well, this is how this show ends and we can only wish you that all your days are… circus.
