World Circus Day: Lima will host the next International Circus Congress, says director of La tarumba

In Peru, the circus season begins in July, but the circuses, those traditional spaces whose resistance we admire and appreciate every national holiday, prepare their shows well in advance. For this reason, World Circus Day, the third Saturday in April, finds them working.

Today, on the occasion of the 2023 celebration, we are talking with Fernando Zevallos, the always friendly and much-loved creator and director of La Tarumba, one of the most representative circuses on the local scene. “La Tarumba is part of a great guild, a great family and everything that I can apply when I direct the shows I owe to the families of the neighborhood circuses who taught me everything I know. Maybe there isn’t much press for them, but they are; in large, medium and small circuses“, says.

enlarging the tent

Zevallos is generous in his words when referring to the circus market. “I think we are recovering the vitality we had in previous years, especially in the 1960s and 1970s, when Lima was the circus capital of Latin America. For a series of reasons, since the 1980s there has been a kind of stagnation in the circus, as in other activities in Peru, but the public has always accompanied us”, he affirms.

The optimism of our interviewee is based on the fact that Lima will host the next International Circus Congress, next August, on the 15th, 16th and 17th. “The 2022 Congress was held in Mexico and we were commissioned to organize it in Peru. We are working hard on the organization and soon we will have more details, but I can anticipate that we will have guests from Europe and maybe even from Asia.”, he comments.

Is this enthusiasm accompanied by state support? Without losing his good spirits, Fernando Zevallos says: “Like everything in Peru, things are always to be done and the State is a bit far away, but I am confident that, in the case of such a special event, the Ministry of Culture or the Municipality will commit to the effort we are making. I think we’re on our way. I think it will not take long for the Peruvian State to recognize the circus as cultural heritage”.

The Union of Circus Artists, Performers and Show Technicians of Peru (SACITE) is over 60 years old, and they have not achieved the long-awaited recognition. Why would it be close, then? Chile —explains Zevallos— has just recognized the circus as cultural heritage, and that means support for culture and syncretism. The Chilean official promoting said recognition will come to Congress, who will make her experience available to the Peruvian authorities. “The Peruvian circus is Peru. It has a sailor, celebration, huayno. You see the circus of Chola Chabuca or that of La Tarumba or any other and you see various manifestations of Peru in them, ”she adds.

Show must go on

While macro dreams come true, La Tarumba continues to work. He hadn’t finished his 2022 season when they started preparing for his 2023 season.We have great surprises for the public this year, as we will bring foreign artists from Latin America and Spain. High level people. I think it will be something that will impact a lot of people. One of the responsibilities of circuses like ours is to always set the bar higher”, he says seriously.

While announcing the start of his winter workshops at the Miraflores, Camacho and Pueblo Libre locations, Fernando Zevallos tells of his dream of reaching more districts of Lima and later, regions. “But it is something that must be planned very carefully, because by having more premises we are not going to lower the quality”, he points out. Of course, from these workshops and from the professional school itself, artists have emerged who have later performed at their functions. “When our graduates find a place to express their art in our shows, I drool”, he says excitedly. In La Tarumba there is no lack of laughter. Neither does affection.