Tuesday, October 8, 2013

THE CHINESE CIRCUS OF PEKIN - DEL 11 AL 14 DE OCTUBRE

 CIRCO HERMANOS CABALLERO PRESENTA

DEL 11 AL 14 DE OCTUBRE

THE CHINESE CIRCUS OF PEKIN

2 HORAS DE ENTRETENIMIENTO PARA TODA LA FAMILIA

OAKLAND, CA
6129 Oakport Street, Oakland, CA
(Nimitz Freeway/880 Fwy)
Frente al Coliseo Public Market de Oakland, CA

LUNES - VIERNES: 7:30 PM
SABADO: 4:30 Y 7:30 PM
DOMINGOS: 2 PM, 4:30 PM Y 7:30PM


Domingo matinée 2pm, Todos $10

INFORMATION Y BOLETOS
602-451-8953

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Vallejo has circus atmosphere as new big top graces waterfront








POSTED:   09/15/2013 01:01:47 AM PDT

In the past few days, a colorful new addition to the Vallejo waterfront has attracted the attention of many passersby.

The big top, decorated with swirls of lime and pink and flashing signs, is the home for more than 30 performers and staff of the Circo Hermanos Caballero, a new circus in town.

The Las Vegas-based traveling circus will perform in Vallejo until Sept. 23, and offers one to three shows a day, depending on the day of the week.

The mostly Spanish-language circus visited Vallejo about four years ago, promoter Bill Mendoza said. However, the circus has decided to return with its newest performance, "The Chinese Circus of Pekin."

Mendoza said the new theme this year features eight Chinese performers, in additionto the circus' regular performance.

"It's a very cultural show," Mendoza said of the new two-hour show, which includes a Chinese lion dance, contortionists, animal shows and other acts.

Before its first show Saturday, performers stretched backstage and put on their make up and costumes in their trailers.

The family-run operation was started about 12 years ago by the Cabelleros, a circus family, he said, and has since included many family members.

One is Emilio Martinez Caballero, 69, who is also Kiwi the Clown on stage. Caballero said he was born into the business and has performed many acts throughout his career. However, due to his age, he is now content to be the clown, interacting with the audience.

"Children is the reason behind a circus," Caballero said in Spanish, translated by Mendoza. "They are the best critics for the show. Children always say the truth."


Shows on Monday, Tuesday and Friday are at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday at 2, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. General admissions are $25 for adults, and $10 for children. However, Sunday's 2 p.m. matinee show is $10 for both children and adults.
Judith Caballero, 11, dangles from the trapeze as she performs during the Circo
Hermanos Caballero in Vallejo on Saturday. (Chris Riley/Times-Herald)


A chinese performer stretches before going on stage with members of the
Chinese Circus of Pekin during Circo Hermanos Caballero along
the waterfront in Vallejo. The circus performs every day
through Sept. 23. ((Chris Riley/Times-Herald)(Chris Riley/Times-Herald))

UNDER THE BIG TOP / Circo Hermanos Caballero / This is the real deal, a traditional circus with trapezes and clowns






Caption: Circo Hermanos Caballero Credit: Lane Fetching Photo: Lane Fetching

Published 4:00 am, Thursday, July 6, 2006


When you go to Circo Hermanos Caballero, you should expect a few things, but Cirque du Soleil-style theatrics and Vegas production tricks won't be among them.
"You'll see a really traditional circus, with a flying trapeze, acrobats, jugglers, clowns, horses, camels, dogs ..." said Ruben Caballero, the ringmaster. "It's 100 percent traditional circus."
Caballero's circus, which he runs with his brother Luis Caballero, hails from Guadalajara, Mexico. He is sixth-generation circus stock; before forming their own circus about seven years ago, his family worked with the Ringling Bros. and Circus Circus in Las Vegas.
And his sons, Ruben III, age 7, and Marco Antonio, age 6, have joined the show. They are trapeze artists who also perform in a four-person motorcycle stunt where the bikes reach speeds of as high as 100 mph inside a 10-foot metal ball.
Caballero says that in addition to his own family's deep tradition in Mexico of circus work, much of the non-Caballero cast and crew have roots in the circus tradition. "Most of the Latin families have been born three, four, five generations into the circus," Caballero said. "It's not like other circuses, like the Chinese or Russians, where you go to school and learn and then join after school.
"I would say all of the Latin people in our circus come from three or four generations of circus."
What this means for the audience is, according to Caballero, a palpable love for the craft as well as intimate knowledge. Certainly, the performers' dedication is amazing: The Circus Caballero spends 11 months a year touring internationally. The two-hour performances are narrated in both Spanish and English, and they feature high-wire walkers, showgirls, gymnasts and clowns.
"The big difference is that we don't like what we do," Caballero says, with a showman's timing. "We love it. When you love what you're doing, it shows. Why would we change something that's working for us?"
The Circo Hermanos Caballero will be around the Bay Area for much of the summer. Check the Web site for scheduled performances. Today-Sun. it will be at the Sheriff's Posse Grounds, 395 Old Natividad Road, Salinas.

Whole family gets into the act for Circo Hermanos Caballero




Spanish-language circus runs through Sunday in Oakland
By Kara Andrade, CORRESPONDENT, OAKLAND

THE FIRST first time Rubensito Caballero III dangled from a trapeze, he was 3 months old. Two years later he was doing somersaults with his dad.
When he turned 5 he also became one of the youngest clowns in circus history. But that's not surprising to the Caballero family, who for six generations have lived and died the circus life.
Rubensito is merely following family tradition. Their circus — Circo Hermanos Caballero, or the Brothers Caballero Circus — originated in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2002.
"It runs in our blood," said father Ruben Caballero II, 33.
"The circus is not aboutthe tent, it's something we carry inside. It's the talent we put in day to day, and it doesn't die."
The Caballero talent extends as far back as the day their great-grandfather entertained the likes of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa in 1916. The family's talents also include being the first trapeze act in the world to successfully complete a quadruple somersault.
In 1998, one of the eight Caballero siblings, Veronica, was also recognized as the second woman in the world to complete a triple somersault. They were presented to Ronald Reagan and twice to Prince Rainier of Monaco, and they've toured the world a few times.
This legacy of talent now exists within the confines of a hot-pink tent off 66th Avenue, hous-ing one ring and bleachers. The circus isn't on the scale of enormity of more corporate operations such as Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Cirque du Soleil or the P.T. Barnum shows.
"We don't have to compare," Caballero said. "Cirque du Soleil doesn't have one generation of its people that comes from families, their people learn from a school, and they perform for the money. For us who carry the circus in their blood, we have generations and generations of our families in the circus, and it's a source of pride and magic."
With a staff of more than 50 people — half of them family — the Circo Hermanos Caballero falls into the tradition of Mexican circuses dating to 1852 that used the "carpa" (tent circus) to provide an unpretentious form of entertainment to the poor.
The tent shows were often run by one family and incorporated various forms of entertainment such as Mexican dances, traditional songs and modern circus elements such as vaudeville, burlesque, dog and pony shows and "maromeros" (acrobats) and comedy routines among others.
They often engage the audience in political scenarios or scandals with such characters as the "pelado" (the underdog), who stumbles through these political boundaries and often symbolizes struggles with race and discrimination.
Many of the acts also have culturally specific references intended for a Latino audience. Their "Los Perritos Baillarines"(Little Dancing Doggies) features three dancing poodles dressed up in different outfits that include a traditional Mexican florclorico outfit, and then bride and groom outfits, in celebration of the wedding of the millennium between singer Luis Miguel and Univision news host Mirka De Llanos.
"We use these outfits because people recognize them and laugh," said Bill Mendoza, coordinator for the Circo Hermanos Caballero. "It's part of their culture, and people always laugh and clap."
Rubensito happens to be the "pelado" who on a recent evening captivated the audience with the gyration of his hips to "Mesa Que Mas Aplaude"(That Table That Calls For You by Grupo Climax) while rebelling against everyone who tries to hold him back from the trapeze.
Even though the performances are conducted in Spanish, they are entertaining and accessible to non-Spanish speakers.
On the road until December through a total of 40 cities, the Circus Hermanos Caballero also functions as its own small business, meeting payrolls, getting city permits and maintaining equipment and purchasing supplies. They are continually replacing tent parts, costumes and concessions. One afternoon the brothers were replacing the bulbs on all the circus lights.
As a family-run circus, it maintains the traditional structure of the Mexican family, where everyone is responsible for keeping the show running.
"My father is a scout, my mom helps to make costumes," said brother Luis Caballero, 30. "My brother cleans the tents and horses, my cousins back home help set tour cities, and everyone does something.
"There's a place for everyone to find their place," he said. "People say we only work two hours a day, but we work so much more. The day has 24 hours, but if we had 48, we would work. It's only when we perform that we rest."
In fact it is not uncommon for Natalia and Albina Caballero, wives of the two brothers, to perform functions as trapeze artists, to be mothers and also to help make decisions about the maintenance of the circus.
"It only takes me five minutes to do my act," said Natalia Caballero, "and then I come back and take care of Judith (her
2-year-old daughter) or make sure she's OK."
Natalia and Albina are Russian and met their husbands in the circus. They became part of the larger Caballero family and its enterprise when they married. Both liked the idea of the family-run circus where they could raise their kids speaking English, Spanish, Russian, German, Japanese and in the tradition of the circus and its enduring roots.
"I give my heart and soul to this circus," Natalia said. "It's part of my life, and when I work I know it's going to my family and not to a large company like Cirque du Soleil.
"I would like my daughter to stay with the circus," she said. "I know she likes it because she knows all the acts and dances along (with them)."
For Janet Davis, author of "The Circus Age: Culture and Society Under the American Big Top," there's a reason why these smaller-scale circuses not only have outlasted the more established circuses but have gained in popularity in the last decade.
"One-ring shows cut across intergenerational," Davis said. "It provides an intimacy that other forms of popular culture don't offer. The intimacy of the ring show is an emphasis on individual athleticism and artistry, and it's also a community experience."
More importantly for the Caballero family, since their entire show is in Spanish and promoted bilingually on the radio and through other venues, it provides a space for Latinos to identify with their culture and feel a sense of belonging.
"Everywhere we go we perform only in Spanish, and I think it's important because it helps us and the audience remember our roots and our culture," said Ruben Caballero. "But that doesn't mean people who don't know Spanish shouldn't come. The circus is visual, not about words. It doesn't need to be explained."
As the eyes of the audience bounce with the trapeze artists, Ruben's words reverberate through the tent.
"As long as there is a kid in the world, there will be a circus and a clown to make him laugh. We carry that kid in all of us."
The circus runs through Sunday. Performances are Monday-Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 5 and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 3, 5 and 7 p.m. $15 for adults, children ages 2 to 10 are free with each adult admission. For more information on tickets, call (702) 241-6468.

The circus comes to town


Posted: Monday, May 7th, 2007
BY: AMANDA SCHOENBERG


For the Caballero family, a sixth generation circus family from Guadalajara, Mexico, home is where the big top is.

As the extended family of siblings, parents, cousins and friends travel the world performing death-defying acrobatic tricks and clowning for their public, the owners of Circo Hermanos Caballero say circus life is the only life for them. The 100-year-old circus is bringing its version of the traditional one-ring show to the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds tonight until Tuesday, with two shows on weekdays and three shows on Saturday and Sunday. 

Matriarch Judith Caballero, like the rest of her family, literally grew up in the circus. She performed as a trapeze artist and hand balancer until her last show in Las Vegas in 1995. Now retired, Caballero unloaded and cleaned her trailer Thursday afternoon to gear up for tonight. As she prepped for the big day, her excitement was palpable.

“You know, I’ve lived for 20 years in Las Vegas,” she said. “I have my nice little house, my nice phone, my nice bedroom and bath, but when I’m there, all I can think is, ‘I have to be here.’”

“This is my life,” she added, gesturing to the mayhem unfolding around her.

Caballero has passed on that spirit to the next generation, including her two sons and six daughters, only one of whom does not travel with the show. Eight children and a teacher also travel with the circus, which includes more than 25 performers from Mexico, Peru, Russia, Bulgaria, America and Colombia.

The goal is to keep the traditional feel of a one-ring show, which now includes trapeze artists, acrobats, clowns, performing French poodles and miniature Liberty ponies handled by the children, said Ruben Caballero Jr., the ringmaster and performance director. His goal is to give people a good, old-fashioned circus show, Caballero said.

The first time the circus came to Watsonville, it performed in the vacant lot where the Civic Plaza now stands. Last year, they came to the fairgrounds for the first time and sold out every show.

“It was incredible,” he said. “We got a really good response from the people.”

Caballero Jr., who broke records for his quadruple somersault on the trapeze at 17, is also passing on his high-flying hijinks to his children. His sons, Ruben III, 8, and Marco Antonio, 7, race their dirt bikes upside down and around the so-called “Globe of Death.” Ruben III also made the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest performer to manage a triple somersault on the flying trapeze, Caballero Jr. said proudly. His wife Albina, a trapeze artist from Russia, also performs with the show. 

For Caballero Jr., there is nothing better than spending 11-and-a-half months every year moving from town to town. He jokes that like his brothers and sisters, who were each born in a different town in Mexico, his own children were born in New York and California — wherever the circus happened to be that year.

“Some people live by the circus,” he said. “I live for the circus. This is my home.”

•••

Circo Hermanos Caballeros performs at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Friday through Tuesday at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. with a third show at 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Adult tickets cost $20, $25 or $30 and children 10 and under are free. For more information, visit www.circocaballero.com or call (702) 682-2219.


“Circo Caballero” by Richard Balison

At the invatation of the owners of Circo Caballero I have been granted the privlage of photographing there fine production.
Click to see the photos.