In the 1800s PT Barnum, one of the revolutionaries of the traditional circus, said, “The noblest art is that of making others happy.”

Even though Barnum died more than 200 years ago, his legacy lives in circuses across the world.

This is also the mantra that the Castillo siblings, Karolayn and Orlando, have adopted. The pair is currently a part of the cast at McLaren Circus which is in town until Sunday.

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In an interview with Lowvelder, conducted in broken English, Spanish and even a little Portuguese, they gave the newspaper a look into their lives behind the scenes.

They joined the circus back in Venezuela, where they were a part of their family’s circus, Circo Barllin, basically since birth.

They explain that on their father’s side, they are third-generation circus folk, while on their mother’s side, they are the fourth-generation that this honour of making others happy has been bestowed upon.

“I have been in South Africa for about two years now. The first time I only came for three months, but I fell in love with the country. My sister only came later to join me,” said Orlando.
For them, it was magical growing up in the circus, but it is even more special now that they are able to work together and build their own name.

“When you are little, they start teaching you one act and once you have mastered it, they teach you the next one,” Orlando explained. “That is why we do so many things in this circus.”

Orlando does everything from juggling to the most dangerous trick the circus has to offer, The Wheel of Death. “But being a clown is my favourite, because I love to bring smiles to the faces of the children.”

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Karolayn, however, does not have to stand in her brother’s shadow. She is a contortionist, acrobat and juggler in own right and during the show she even does a hula hoop trick where the hoops are on fire.

It was also a blessing for Orlando that his sister was present when he fell off the Wheel of Death and broke both his feet about a year ago. “I could not work for six months, but luckily she was here to take care of me.”
Both agreed that the circus was in their blood and that things like travelling a lot or living in a caravan do not bother them.

“Our lives are very different. Sometime we only begin working at 13:00 but we end up only going to bed past 23:00. We both love to travel and we have everything we need in a caravan.”

Orlando is also the proud father of a four-year-old daughter who lives with her mother in Columbia. “She is in school there. When she is a little bit older I will introduce her to the circus as well and I hope that she falls in love with it too.”

They both admit that it is difficult to date someone outside the circus, “but if you fall in love, in six months that person is in the circus too”.

For Karolayn and Orlando, nothing will ever beat the thrill of standing in the ring, doing what they love to do and sharing that passion with a tent full of faces.