• Español
  • English
  • portfolio
  • about me
  • contact/links
Magnum Circus / Maria, dancer, Brazo Oriental neighbourhood, Montevideo, on August 31, 1995.
Olguin Petit Circus / Christian Olguín trains next to his nephew, in San Gregorio de Polanco, Tacuarembó, northeastern Uruguay, in January 1997.
(Español) Circo Buffalo Bill / José
Magnum Circus / Manrique, in charge of peons, smokes a cigarrette during the dismantling of the big top, Malvin Norte neighbourhood, Montevideo, on August 28, 1995.
Magnum Circus / Dismantling of the big top, Malvin Norte neighbourhood, Montevideo, on August 28, 1995.
Magnum Circus / Dancers get ready for the show, Colon neighbourhood, Montevideo, on July 9, 1995.
Magnum Circus / Graciela Pensado --owner of the circus-- makes-up dancer Maria for the show, Brazo Oriental neighbourhood, Montevideo, on August 30, 1995.
Magnum Circus / Set-up of the big top, Colon neighbourhood, Montevideo, on July 4, 1995.
American Circus-Theatre / Daiane (C) Patricia and Natali (R) wash clothes in the morning, in Colonia Itapebí, Salto, northwestern Uruguay, on August 28, 1996.
Magnum Circus / A clown makes-up in the open air, in Brazo Oriental neighbourhood, Montevideo, on September 3, 1995.
Magnum Circus / A boy takes a bath inside a tank during the dismantling of the big top, in Malvín Norte neighbourhood, Montevideo, on August 28, 1995.
Magnum Circus / A dancer sips mate before the show, in Colon neighbourhood, Montevideo, on July 8, 1995.
American Circus-Theatre / A dog nibbles a sheep in front of the big top in Colonia Itapebí, Salto, northwestern Uruguay, on August 27, 1996.
Magnum Circus / Aranda Jr. plays marbles inside his caravan in La Teja neighbourhood, Montevideo, on June 23, 1995.
Oriental Circus / Flavio, in El Prado, Montevideo, on December 3, 1996.
(Español) Circo Oriental / El payaso 'Boganito' --el dueño del circo José
Magnum Circus / Trapeze artist Esmeralda waits to get dressed, in Brazo Oriental, Montevideo, on October 15, 1995.
Magnum Circus / Quevedo makes a ditch around the big top in Brazo Oriental, Montevideo, on August 30, 1995.
Magnum Circus / Show interval, Brazo Oriental, Montevideo, on September 3, 1995.
Magnum Circus / A group of poor children tries to enter the circus in Brazo Oriental, Montevideo, on August 31, 1995.
Magnum Circus / Luis, the foreman, La Teja, Montevideo, on June 25, 1995.
Magnum Circus / A clown watches a Copa America football match during a break, Colón neighbourhood, Montevideo, on July 23, 1995.
Magnum Circus / View from atop the big top in Malvín Norte, Montevideo, on August 27, 1995.
(Español) Circo Buffalo Bill / La trapecista Luz Alba, Villa Española, Montevideo, el 6 de abril de 1996.Buffalo Bill Circus / Trapeze artist Luz Alba, Villa Española, Montevideo, on April 6, 1996
Magnum Circus / Two boys carry chairs on a rainy day, in Brazo Oriental neighbourhood, on August 30, 1995.
Buffalo Bill Circus / Trapeze artist Luz Alba and her son Alejandro, Totoral del Sauce, Canelones, on May 26, 1996.
Oriental Circus / Bettina and don sánchez prepare a board for painting, in the Viaducto, Montevideo on December 14, 1996.
Magnum Circus / A boy waits to get his ticket in Colón neighbourhood, on July 9, 1995.
Magnum Circus / Pepe, Colón neighbourhood, Montevideo, on July 30, 1995.
(Español) Circo Magnum / El domador Mario
Buffalo Bill Circus / Mara plays with her grandson Flavito inside the big top in Villa Española, in Montevideo, on April 27, 1996.
[:es]
Real Madrid International Circus /  Bettina -the ringmaster- gets ready for the show in La Paloma, Rocha, eastern Uruguay, on February 11, 1997.
American Circus-Theatre / The owner of the circus, Claro Olguin (L), checks his son training, at Colonia Itapebí, Salto, northwest Uruguay, on August 29, 1996.
Olguin Petit Circus / San Gregorio de Polanco, Tacuarembó, northeastern Uruguay, in January 1997.
American Circus-Theatre / The owner of the circus, Claro Olguin, on stage at Colonia Itapebí, Salto, northwest Uruguay, on August 29, 1996.
Circo Buffalo Bill (ex-Boganny) Catalina gives Maikhol a bath after the show, in Villa Española, Montevideo, on April 4, 1996
Magnum Circus / A day laborer rests after the dismantling of the tent, in Malvin Norte, Montevideo, on August 28, 1995.
Olguin Petit Circus / Crossing of the Negro river from San Gregorio de Polanco, in Tacuarembo, to Blanquillo in Durazno, northeastern Uruguay, on January 1997.
Olguin Petit Circus / Contorsionist Ceni keeps his balance on a wire on board a raft in the Negro river, while crossing from San Gregorio de Polanco in Tacuarembó, to Blanquillo in Durazno, northeastern Uruguay, in January 1997.

Circum

"CIRCUM" is the result of a two year effort in Uruguayan circuses, and with already retired circus families. The emotion incited by the discovery in our country of the existence of this magic world only compares to the remembrance of the fascination it caused in me during my childhood, as I longed to be a trapeze artist. After living during almost a year in a circus, the enchantment of this unique world persists, a world that turns driven by the harmonic coexistence of the opposites. Its stability is based in nomadism, its reality is a fantasy of sparkles and feathers; its security is sustained by masts, stakes, and tightrope performances. The circus: a marvellous world that bursts in without notice with its multi-coloured big top, its music, its textures and its smells, its lights and shadows, surprising with its magic the unaware gaze and our fragile heart.

Mariana Mendez / 1997