It’s not often that one can live out a childhood fantasy of escape and adventure—or, to invoke industry parlance, “Run away with the circus.” But theoretically, one can, at least in a sense, when Circus Vargas comes to Marin next week.
Although there’s no word if Circus Vargus is hiring as such (we scoured the website looking for job listings but found nothing), it’s likely only one’s imagination that will be running anywhere. But that should be enough for most fans to step right up and witness the feats of derring-do of “Jubilé! An Epic World Celebration,” the lauded circus’ latest touring iteration.
Founded in 1969 by Bay Area native Clifford E. Vargas, Circus Vargas, at its peak, used a tent the size of a football field, according to the aforementioned website. Vargas died in 1989, and in the intervening decades, ownership of the venture changed between friends and circus professionals. Then Katya Arata Quiroga and her husband, Nelson Quiroga, acquired Circus Vargas in 2005. The two have operated it since.
Over the years, Circus Vargas has continued to evolve, dispensing with animal acts and focusing the experience on an intimate, single-ring setting. It emphasizes the artistry of live performances by aerialists, acrobats, contortionists, jugglers and clowns, among other traditional circus arts (and a little upside archery using toes instead of fingers whilst balancing on a pole for good measure).
The two-hour show also features comedy, a flying trapeze and heart-pounding acts like a performance involving four motorcycles exploring the outer edges of Newtonian physics in a globe-shaped cage.
As our colleague at the Santa Barbara Independent observed at a recent show, “With all this grandeur, Circus Vargas certainly captured the world of the classic circus, successfully paying homage to a bygone era marked by elaborate costumes, whimsical fanfare, and daring feats of bravery and skills.”
To that end, the scope of “Jubilé!” represents a fusion of global cultures, featuring performers from 15 different countries. Opera-trained ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson masterfully guides the audience through a journey celebrating the rich tapestry of global traditions. Iverson has the distinction of being both the youngest and the first Black ringmaster of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus, where he performed until its closure in 2017, making him the final ringmaster in its storied 146-year history as “The Greatest Show On Earth.”
Since Circus Vargas merges classic circus traditions and contemporary, international flair, it’s no wonder that audiences are drawn to this spectacle year after year. As Katya Arata-Quiroga shared with the Downey Patriot earlier this year, “Every year, people want some joy in their lives… That’s something that we try to give to people. They come here, they forget their problems, they get some joy, they see something new.”
Circus Vargas’ opening night commences at 7 pm, Thursday, July 25 and continues through Aug. 5, at Northgate Mall, 5800 Northgate Dr., San Rafael. Tickets for the all-ages show
are $25 to $85 (children under 2 are free) and are available online at tickets.circusvargas.com.
