Recently, Don Jesús Ayala's Circus visited town for everyone's enjoyment. Although this is not an extravagantly large circus, it's not just a colorful tent. What goes on under their big top is anything but small; there are acts of courage and dedication which are presented every two hours, every day for the duration of their visit.
This is a young company compared to others; it's been only in business 3 years, yet still follows a longstanding family tradition. The Circo Hermanos Ayala (Ayala Brothers) is the larger company, which gave birth to the Circo de Don Jesús Ayala.
The show like most ordinary circuses started off with the baton twirlers doing their thing, and then came the clowns followed by the trapeze artists. The show went on: the prancing poodles, the educated monkeys and the pony. The clowns appeared every now and then to spark up people's faces; girls, boys, mums and dads.
In my opinion, the most impressive acts were the trapeze kids; a boy and a girl, 12 and 9 years old respectively. The girl spun on the tiny bar that hold her up high, she hung herself from the back part of her knee, moved around and ended up tied like a knot showing her smiling pretty face from in between her arms and legs. The boy was quite as amazing, he was definitely the most energetic of the entire cast. He'd twist, dance and throw himself from one side to another always balancing on a rope so high he reached the ceiling.
I found two acts to be very beautiful and artistic. One was a girl who held on to an anchor-shaped structure with her extremities. While the anchor moved above the audience she minced with ballet-like steps. The other act was Spiderman. A man dressed as the masked hero suspended himself from two large strips of light fabric by wrapping his arms in them. As well, he spun around the stage, seemingly on air, creating the effect that he had grown wings or emitted spider's web. I must say, for a moment I forgot about myself and got submerged in the illusion and joy a circus gives to all.
The Circo de Don Jesús Ayala is formed, in its majority, by the Ayala family members. They are 15 relatives and about 10 hired hands who mount, operate and dismount the whole circus. To better understand the history of this circus, I spoke to Marcelo Ramírez, one of the clowns who also happens to be the longest standing member of the troupe.
Marcelo was born in Tampico, Tamaulipas, 29 years ago, while the circus where his mother worked was passing through that city. Being born in a circus and living in one all his life sounds romantic in a sense. Marcelo says that when he was a boy, he had to take one of two options: Stay to study and let his family go off on tour, or renounce the chance at an academic education and go along with the family to learn the art of the circus. Nowadays, a teacher is part of the fixed staff and the children have a chance at a scholastic education like other kids get. This company goes around Jalisco and Michoacán again and again. Marcelo explained how the mother company of this circus has already been going for 60 years continuously.
Life in a circus is exhausting and leaves few hours for rest. They wake up early in the morning, especially the young , who need to practice and rehearse more intensively. Never does anyone stop practicing. Even at 10:30 pm after the last show when the big top was empty, except for Marcelo and me, some girls came to the stage to start rehearsing their new act. "We go to bed at 1 or 2 in the morning." - said Marcelo. His artistic name is Marcelino, and he is one of the key pieces in the show. Besides making people laugh, he keeps the audience's view concentrated on him while the backstage staff readies the stage for the next act. The clowns were part of what I enjoyed best.
Marcelo talked to me about the general situation of circuses, of how the tradition is slowly fading. "The circus is not the draw it used to be. Now, youngsters don't come as easily because they have so much other stuff to do: discos, satellite T.V., computers and many other things they'd rather be doing. Before, there was little or nothing to do in most towns, so when the circus came, everyone went."
I am one of those people who think that everything always has a message, an underlying meaning trying to reach the surface. That is why, before finishing our short chat, I asked Marcelo, " What is the message of each show? What are you trying to leave in people's heads?"
He answered somewhat thoughtfully, "Well, it's about giving people an illusion. The circus is for children to experience the unimaginable and grown-ups to see the amazing."
In other words, it's about keeping our imagination alive and affirming that the circus tradition is a good entertainment choice. After all, a circus is formed by people who wish to transmit something to their audience. At some point during the show, the audience becomes part of the spectacle and pay the performers back with their sincere appreciation, loud applause and many a spontaneous smile, all of which, says Marcelino the clown, is the best currency he can be paid with.
