Half a century ago, the Atlas circus of the Tonetti brothers did not miss the Christmas event in Barcelona. At the intersection of Aragó with Marina, what is now the Pablo Neruda square, he set up the tent during the festivities. There were more circuses that used to be mounted in the two bullrings, in the Monumental and the Arenas. They were circuses with animals, with the classic clowns, the clown and the august, and no ingredient was missing.
Since then, the circus has evolved in many ways, but the acts of trapeze artists, tightrope walkers and clowns are still part of the greatest show on earth.
In Barcelona, this Christmas a few circus proposals coincide, from the most classic to the most innovative. But what relationship does the circus have with Christmas? Louisa Raluy, from the Raluy family, responds: “We have been coming to the port of Barcelona for more than 25 years. It is a time when people like to go out with the kids. Christmas parties are characterized by illusion and magic, which are also essential ingredients of the circus. In Barcelona we are a classic. A couple of years ago, when we were settling in, a lady told us: 'You're coming: it's Christmas already'”.
The Raluy Legacy circus sets up the tent at the Moll de la Fusta every two years (tickets with a 25% discount on Entradas de Vanguardia). This year the show is called In art we trust (In art we trust): “We have taken the motto of the United States –continues Raluy–. It is a function of more than two hours, which recovers the pre-pandemic format, with the large-format attractions. It's the most visual show we've done so far." Among the numbers they present, "the wheel of death, which rotates on a pendulum, stands out, one of the most dangerous spectacles there is." There are 25 artists on the track, who will offer performances until March 12.
But what do they do the rest of the year, do they hide? “The rest of the year we don't hide. For the last five years we have been more concentrated in Catalonia and the Valencian Country, we do not travel as much as before. But it is true that we were one of the circuses that toured the world the most, like in Africa, Central America, even in the Indian Ocean, on the island of Reunion. A professor from Madrid called us 'the last expeditionary circus'. We create a new show every two years, and we alternate one Christmas in Valencia and the other in Barcelona, so that when we come every two years, the show is always new”.
Without leaving the seashore, a little further to the northeast, in the Fòrum park, there is another tent. It is that of the clown Fofito and his daughter Mónica Aragón. They present the show Viva el circo, until January 22, and from February 10 to March 5 they will be in Lleida. The show contains numbers of all kinds and the songs of the clowns on TV (here, the interview).
One of the most surprising and innovative proposals that have been offered in Barcelona for 27 editions is that of the Circ d'Hivern of the Ateneu Popular 9 Barris, which encourages the creation of stable professional companies. In fact, many renowned artists have collaborated there and names have emerged that are now benchmarks for the tracks. This year, with the faM show, they assure that it is a very poetic circus.
Under the direction of the Danish artist Karl Stets, "live music takes center stage with words", and on the Ateneu Popular dance floor you will see "outlandish characters, accompanied by an enigmatic one-man band, who all find themselves together in a universe magical and fantastic where objects come to life”. The Circ d'Hivern offers performances from December 17 to January 22, at popular prices.
Poble Espanyol also has its Christmas show. This year, the family show Winter, by Sàndal Produccions, is presented in its tent, a show that mixes dance, theater and acrobatics, starring young dancers between the ages of 16 and 20. From December 4 to January 29, the Poble Espanyol show tells an ecological Christmas story, starring Alice, who, as a result of the disappearance of Christmas and winter, tries to recover them through nature.
After Christmas Day, from December 28 to January 8, the Sala Petita of the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya hosts the show Déjà vu, by Manolo Alcántara. The artist from Esparreguera also approaches the universe of Alícia, but mixing Bartleby with the clerk, in a setting where objects are disproportionate to people and where the circus artist explores the limits between the person and her dreams.
Wild animals have disappeared from the circus ring, but that doesn't stop technology from helping to create the illusion of wild beasts. Thus, the Circ Universal presents a classic show that includes, as a novelty, the participation of animals through 3D technology. In the Can Dragó park, from December 10 to January 22.
And we will have to wait until after the holidays to see Cirque du Soleil again. This time he presents the show Crystal, with the novelty that it is a circus on skates. The show has incorporated the discipline of figure skating, a fact that increases the difficulty of finding artists who, in addition to being jugglers, trapeze artists or tightrope walkers, know how to skate or have been willing to learn. Cirque du Soleil performs at the Palau Sant Jordi, from January 12 to 22.
Catalan version, here
