The Carpa Azul, of Cuba's National Circus, offered performances of its show "Renacer" this past weekend and on Monday, April 4, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the UJC and the 61st of the OPJM, in the grounds of the Sports City, a space where it will repeat its show next Friday 8, Saturday 9 and Sunday 10, at 4 and 7 pm.

The general director of Carpa Azul, Belkis Causse López, a graduate of the National Circus School, president of the Technical-Advisory Committee of the National Circus, trainer of the special course and exacróbata of the Chang and L'Gasca Trio, who, while still active on the stage, took her first steps in artistic direction until she assumed the highest responsibility of the group four years ago, conceived "Renacer" with the intention of stimulating the interest of the spectators in this manifestation despite the pandemic crisis that hit our country and the world in general.

Although the artistic collective began to present this show in the central provinces at the end of 2021 with reduced capacity, the decrease in the audience as a result of the COVID was notorious.

Gradually the public has joined the performances offered in Campo Florido, Alamar and Guanabo. In the most recent presentations at Ciudad Deportiva, we were able to observe the affluence of a majority of children who rewarded the performances with laughter provoked by the clowns Tarekito, Repollo and Rabanito and exclamations of astonishment at the most risky acts, Hansel's balancing with bottles and MagiCuba's quick changes. The applauses distinguished the mischievousness of movements and skill of the Balance Duo, specialized in acrobatics on the mast, the courage and beauty of the high altitude numbers, standing out among them, in terms of technical mastery, the aerial Pole performed by the Yoalci duo.

The cast of "Renacer" includes the lyric singer Jennifer Calderón, recently graduated from the school of the National Lyric Theater, who acts as presenter and accompanies the main theme of The Phantom of the Opera, the aerial fabric act performed by Fabi, demonstrating the progress of the fusion between the arts that characterizes the international scene, where dance is also indispensable.

The circus artist and the dancer are performers twinned by the requirement of great physical effort, which must remain hidden from the eyes of the spectator with elegance. Ronald Perez Muñoz, 16 years old, makes good use of this skill in his aerial acrobatics number. Special guest for almost two years at Carpa Azul's shows, the young man has been a member of the community project "Angels of the Future", directed by Professor Orelmis Hernandez (Kiko) since he was a child, receiving training that has already placed him at a professional level. Winner of the Pista Joven Contest organized by the Carpa Trompoloco, Ronald received direct admission to the National Circus School where he is in his first year and an invitation to participate in the Circuba Festival to be held from August 23 to 28.

Circus artists demonstrate their resilience in each performance, which may be affected by a fall, electrical interruption or any other unforeseen event typical of the live show, but they practice an art in which inner strength and physical and psychological preparation are essential to overcome obstacles, always counting on the support of the pisteros (1), whose work is invaluable for the success of the show.

The ringmaster of the Carpa Azul group is Marcelino Benítez, who began in the circus taking care of trained animals, was a pistero and today assumes the maximum responsibility of the scene, watching over the safety of the artists and participating in the effort of the presentations. The employees who, among other tasks, are in charge of setting up and taking down the big top efficiently, play another indispensable role, since all of them are essential to achieve artistic success. Carpa Azul will be presented in the coming weeks in the municipalities of San Miguel del Padrón, Pinar del Rio, Bauta and Artemisa, with the mission of covering all the municipalities of the country.

Thanks to the presence in the performances of Milagros Luis Alonso, exacróbata and assistant technical-artistic director of the National Circus of Cuba, I was able to know details about the special course of methodological approach that the circus company implements to enable talented young people with 12th grade passed, taking into account that the enrollment of the National Circus School is not enough to meet the national and international demand for our artists.

Por su parte, la Escuela Nacional de Circo incluye en el plan de estudios asignaturas como Historia del arte, Historia del Circo, Danza, Ballet, Actuación y otras, que inician al alumnado en el conocimiento de las artes pues a diferencia del ballet, no existe la enseñanza académica de nivel elemental en esta especialidad, arribando con mayor preparación a las aulas, aquellos que se han formado desde niños en propuestas como “Ángeles del Futuro” o los que se acercan al medio por tradición familiar.

El Circo Nacional de Cuba ha participado en los más importantes festivales del mundo recibiendo prestigiosos premios, es dirigido por Rodolfo Miguel Pacios y organiza su actividad a través de proyectos como Compañía Havana, que es su agrupación insignia; Circomanía, dedicado a la comercialización internacional; CirDance y LadyDance, que fusionan circo y baile; el circo camagüeyano Areito y otros, que se presentan en espacios obligados a cumplir con las exigencias técnicas que garanticen las normas de seguridad requeridas. Para desarrollar esta actividad los lugares idóneos resultan la Carpa Azul, la Carpa Trompoloco y algunos teatros del país, por lo que CIRCUBA se esfuerza en que todos sus artistas puedan trabajar, procurando dinamizar los elencos.

El Centro Cultural “Carpa Trompoloco”, ubicado en 5ta. avenida y calle 112, comenzó funciones este pasado fin de semana con el espectáculo: “Una historia de animales”, a cargo del Proyecto Afro-Zoo, propuesta vinculada al Zoológico Nacional que se propone despertar la sensibilidad hacia la fauna maltratada y la necesidad de la protección animal. Estas funciones se realizarán durante todo el mes de abril, los sábados y domingos en el horario de 4 y 7 de la tarde.

Mucho circo en La Habana por estos días, un regalo para toda la familia que descubrirá asombrada las maravillas del arte circense.