Under a custom-built big top adjacent to AT&T Park, San Francisco will play host to the United States premiere of Luzia, the newest traveling production from Cirque du Soleil, beginning tonight, Nov. 17. After the past year's political circus, there's a piquant irony to the fact that Luzia is billed as A Waking Dream of Mexico. No, there will not be an acrobatic wall-jumping routine.
In a recent telephone interview, the show's Director of Creation Patricia Ruel explained that when the production's development got underway at Cirque du Soleil's Montreal headquarters two years ago, there was an understanding among the set designers, costumers, and other creative team members. "We should do a show inspired by Mexican culture that avoids cliches about Mexico."
That's hardly surprising since, while not mentioned in the show's press kit, the Mexican government has invested nearly $50 million (USD) in the production's planned seven-year global tour. In addition to entertaining audiences, Luzia is intended to do a bit of subliminal cultural diplomacy, supporting Mexico's tourism industry and enhancing the image of a country that has been overtly criticized on the world stage.
While the performing troupe is drawn from the limited pool of top-flight acrobatic talent worldwide (the cast hails from 15 countries, and includes four members from Mexico), Luzia's live band is composed of Mexican musicians, and the richly colored, intricately detailed props and settings are overseen by Eugenio Caballero, one of Mexico's leading film production designers.
Winner of an Oscar for his art direction of countryman Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, Caballero has infused signifiers of Mexican culture into each of the production's 17 evocative vignettes. From the papel picado-influenced surface of a monumental cylindrical curtain, to projected monarch butterfly patterns that showcase a similarly designed costume, to the ring of hanging vines that help suggest the subterranean atmosphere of a Yucatan cenote, Caballero and costume designer Giovanna Buzzi summon a fantastical Mexican motif without defaulting to chili peppers and sombreros.
The production's gauzy, fantastic imagery and nods to the natural world are a striking shift from the mechanical, steampunk aesthetic of Kurious, the last Cirque du Soleil show to play the Bay Area. According to Patricia Ruel, prior to Kurious, the Cirque du Soleil organization did a significant reorganization of its creation process to assure that a largely new team would be assigned to the development of each touring show.
"There was a certain amount of fatigue," said Ruel, who has been involved in seven other company productions, but not as a creative lead. "The idea now is to shake things up with each production. My feeling is that I will only get to be Director of Creation for one show in my life, so I want to do my very best."
Perhaps the most dramatic difference from any prior Cirque du Soleil tour is the breathtaking incorporation of water into the production. Over 1,500 gallons of water are used to create stunning rain effects throughout the performance, sometimes pouring down intensely enough to serve as screens for projected images. The stage is perforated by more than 90,000 tiny drain holes, through which the water flows before being purified and pumped back up to a reserve high above the tent floor. Aficionados who have seen the company's permanent Las Vegas spectacles should be forgiven if they think of this production as Mexic-O.
Pole dancer Diana Ham, one of Luzia 's four native Mexican performers, said that the show's vision feels authentic to her. "It's a modern, contemporary, mystical way to show Mexico. There are some moments, when I first saw them, that really touched my heart."
She pointed to the hand-organ played by a street musician in one scene and the transformation of soccer skills into a highly choreographed dance routine as examples of the production's nuanced interpretation of its theme. When asked what it feels like to be a Mexican citizen touring the U.S. in a Mexican show right now, Ham admitted, "I'm scared. Some of the comments I've heard this man [Donald Trump] say make me wonder if people here will be against the show. But we will play around the whole world, not just the U.S.," she said, shrugging. "The show must go on."
Ham, 34, who did rhythmic gymnastics throughout her childhood, eventually went to university and began a career in a biotechnology laboratory. "I worked on algorithms for growing penicillin and other medical compounds," she recalled. While she never gave up competing in gymnastics, it was difficult to make her schedule dovetail with life as a salaried scientist. So, at age 20, with a three-year-old son, Ham took on a grand experiment, leaving the lab and running away to join the circus.
"My father stopped speaking to me," she said. "But I just had to pursue this while I could."
Ham, who has competed on Mexico's Got Talent, said she thinks she'll get back to science someday. "My body can only do this for so long. And I miss the math," she said �" echoing the sentiments of just about nobody, ever.
Drawing connections between her two realms of expertise, Ham has developed her own ointments and creams for the pain and muscle ache that circus performers experience. She also explores the life of the mind by oil painting during the day while on the road. "I like to mix surrealism and hyperrealism," she joked. "But I'm not Frida Kahlo."
Manu Cyr, a Canadian, and one of five out gay performers in the Luzia cast, also takes on personal projects to pass his days. While he's worked at painting, teaching circus skills to students, and ceramics at other stops in his touring career, he has something different in mind for San Francisco.
"I was just on vacation in Mexico," he recalled. "And I want to spend more time there. So I think I will take Spanish lessons."