Circo Raluy Legacy brings CYBORG to Puerto de Sagunto until 27 September
Anyone who wants to see CYBORG, the new Circo Raluy Legacy show, has until 27 September in Puerto de Sagunto: almost two hours of risk, technology and humour under an air-conditioned big top.
The chance to see CYBORG in Puerto de Sagunto (coastal district) stays open until Sunday 27 September; counting today, Monday 21, there are seven days left to do so. The good response from audiences led Circo Raluy Legacy, a family-run travelling circus-museum, to extend its stay in the town, and afterwards the company will carry on its tour in Gavà (a town near Barcelona). Performances take place in a covered canvas venue with air conditioning, which is useful given the temperatures these days.
The session described in the report starts at 17.00 and lasts around two hours, with a 15-minute interval. Neither ticket prices nor whether that time is repeated every day appear in the sources consulted, so the sensible thing is to ask the company before going.
On stage, CYBORG crosses classic circus with a science-fiction setting. The riskiest stunt is the Globe of Death, performed in the dark; alongside it come contortionists, robotic beings and animatronic figures shaped like animals, drawing a world halfway between people and machines. No act resembles the one before, so rhythms and atmospheres keep changing. The person stitching it all together is the Argentine comedian Pietro Vicentini, who fills the gaps with humour while the artists get ready for each challenge.
Before taking a seat, spectators walk past the company's period vans and carriages. That fleet comes from far back: the Legacy inherited a collection of more than 40 circus caravans and trucks from the early 20th century, considered one of the most important travelling circus museums in Europe. The audience is also mixed: couples and families with young children come along, as do older spectators.
To understand the surname you have to go back to Luis Raluy and Barbara Rastall. She, a dancer from Liverpool, met him at the Italian circus Moira Orfei; both shared the plan of founding one of their own. The original Circo Raluy, which ceased to exist in May 2016, gave rise to several family artistic projects, among them the Legacy, responsible for CYBORG. According to the company itself, six generations of the family keep this travelling circus-museum going, with more than a century behind it. Its record includes the Big Top Label (an international circus distinction), an honour that, again according to the company, only 13 circuses in the world hold.
The director is Louisa Raluy, who also steps into the ring for aerial, magic and wire-walking acts. The co-director, Kerry Raluy, handles the design and making of much of the costumes. From the fifth generation, Benicio and Charmelle Raluy perform a trapeze duo they have spent more than three years perfecting. According to elperiodicodeaqui.com, with additional data from Wikipedia on Circo Raluy.