Recently -17 April- has been commemorated the World Day of the Circus, an anniversary that celebrates an ancient tradition, formed by a set of activities (a way of life...) that brings to memory the skill, risk, effort or fun. Today, in accordance with the legislation regulating its operation, the circus continues to reinvent itself to offer the best of itself to a society that enjoys a wide range of distractions. Numerous circuses passed and continue to do so through Elche, installed in locations that varied over time, moving away from the traditional center of a city that grew fast.

In the seventies and the first eighties, I was lucky enough to go to the circus, almost always with relatives. At that time, circuses used to be located in front of the old Altabix football field and the La Zapatillera factory, a capable space located in an industrial suburb that would soon host new homes. As a neighbor of that neighborhood, the arrival of a circus was usual, a nearby scene composed of ropes, tarps, lights, trucks and people who worked hard and who spoke, it seemed to us, all the languages of the world.

There we laughed with the clowns, the trapeze artists overwhelmed us and "the beasts" shook us, together with a crowd that crowded those wooden stands covered by the tent. I met "el Price"-later I enjoyed in Madrid the Teatro Circo of the same name-; "the Atlas" of the unforgettable Tonetti brothers; "the World Cup", where they let us enter for free -I went with friends- for having collaborated in the editing that same morning... But the years passed and, with them, other occupations and leisure took me away from that wasteland of the neighborhood where, fleetingly, this heterogeneous human group stopped.

A decade ago, in my professional activity at the Elche Archaeological and History Museum "Alejandro Ramos Folqués", I returned again to the circus. One morning, he had received in the MAHE the visit of the master of the "Aquatic", newly arrived in the city and mounted in front of the shopping center l'Aljub. This man was responsible for educating the school-age population of the circus family in their wandering around the Spanish geography. I proposed to make a visit to the museum with these/as children/as, children, nephews or grandchildren/as of the artists of the company. But not only visit the museum with them/ as, but also with those relatives who could accompany them that day. Of course, I thought the idea was excellent and we got ready for the task. We began by visiting the circus and its rolling school -a kind of tetris formed in an elongated and luminous cabin- installed in a trailer that shared the classroom with the teacher’s home and his wife. I could then meet, behind the scenes, some discreet and efficient artists who showed me their work and their homes. The next day, the visit of the circus to the MAHE was quite an event. Large and small enjoyed one of the few exits that can be allowed beyond their temporary locations. Needless to say, we had a great time. Days later I returned to the circus as a spectator and, again, I could see all/as in action, with their juggling and their jokes.

From the School Museum of Puçol, where a small collection of advertising about the world of the circus is preserved, we want to thank these/ as professionals for their generosity and good work. To congratulate them, too, for their day and for staying with us; for brightening the lives of so many people who enjoy the greatest spectacle in the world.

Author: Rafa Martínez, director of the School Museum.