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Chapter 4 - The Criollo Circus (Circus Theatre) in Argentina

The Emergence of a Unique Circus Form in Connection with the Consolidation of the Argentine Nation State

from Part I - Transnational Geographies of the Modern Circus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 June 2021

By
Julieta Infantino
Edited by
Gillian Arrighi  and
Jim Davis
Gillian Arrighi
Affiliation:
University of Newcastle, New South Wales
Jim Davis
Affiliation:
University of Warwick
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Summary

A unique circus form known as Criollo Circus (or Circus Theatre) became established in Argentina in the late nineteenth century, characterised by a performance that was divided into two parts. The first part comprised of exhibitions of various traditional circus techniques, while the second part presented a theatrical piece based on the criollista gaucho genre, a theatre genre derived from the literary movement that extolled the figure of the Argentine gaucho as an emblem of nationality. This fusion of physically based circus arts with a vernacular style of theatrical representation founded on text, melodrama, and social criticism not only produced an innovative mode of performance unique to Argentina, it also provoked changes in the evaluation of these popular performance forms. Between 1880 and 1910 the status of both the circus and the criollista-gaucho genre shifted from ‘minor arts’ to validation as the origins of the authentic Argentinian national theatre. This chapter discusses the emergence and legitimisation of the Criollo Circus, examines its stylistic and thematic characteristics, and evaluates the imprint it has left on the subsequent national circus and theatre forms. It also analyses the construction of hierarchies based on the valuation of spoken drama and high art over popular bodily based performances.

Keywords

Criollo CircusCircus TheatreArgentinian national theatreArgentine gauchoCriollo Circus dramaturgyArgentinian nationalityartistic hierarchiesminor artpopular art
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to the Circus , pp. 63 - 77
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

Further Reading

Castagnino, Raúl H. El Circo Criollo. Buenos Aires: Lajouane, 1969.Google Scholar
Infantino, Julieta. Circo en Buenos Aires: Cultura, jóvenes y políticas en disputa. Buenos Aires: Instituto Nacional del Teatro, 2014.Google Scholar
Infantino, Julieta ‘A Contemporary History of Circus Arts in Buenos Aires, Argentina: The Post-dictatorial Resurgence and Revaluation of Circus As a Popular Art.’ Popular Entertainment Studies 6, no. 1 (2015): 42–61.Google Scholar
Infantino, Julieta ‘El circo de Buenos Aires y sus prácticas: Definiciones en disputa.’ ILHA. Revista de Antropología 15, no. 2 (2013): 277–309.Google Scholar
Infantino, Julieta, and Morel, Hernán. ‘Circo, murga y tango en Buenos Aires: Procesos de resurgimiento y Arte Popular en la post-dictadura (1983).’ Revista Antropolitica 38 (2015): 321–347.Google Scholar
Lopes, Daniel de Carvelho. ‘A contemporaneidade da produção do Circo Chiarini no Brasil de 1869 a 1872.’ Master’s diss., São Paulo State University, 2015. Accessed 31 January 2021. https://repositorio.unesp.br/handle/11449/124064?locale-attribute=enGoogle Scholar
Lopes, Daniel de Carvelho, and Silva, Erminia. ‘A contemporaneidade da linguagem circense no Rio de Janeiro do século XIX.’ ILINX – Revista do LUME 13 (2018): 12–24.Google Scholar
Seibel, Beatriz. Historia del Circo. Buenos Aires: Ediciones del Sol, 1993.Google Scholar
Silva, Erminia. Circo-teatro: Benjamin de Oliveira e a teatralidade circense no Brasil. São Paulo: Altana, 2007.Google Scholar
Silva, Erminia ‘O circo sempre esteve na moda.’ In Fazendo rizoma: Pensamentos contemporâneos, edited by Lins, Daniel and Furtado, Beatriz, 90–7. Fortaleza: Hedra, 2008.Google Scholar
Silva, Erminia ‘O novo está em outro lugar.’ In Palco Giratório, 12–21. Rio de Janeiro: Rede Sesc de Difusão e Intercâmbio das Artes Cênicas, SESC, Departamento Nacional, 2011. Accessed 31 January 2021. www.circonteudo.com/o-novo-esta-em-outro-lugar.Google Scholar

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