“The circus is my blood” – McLaren’s Circus performer

Some careers are more than just a job – they are a complete way of life.

This is the case with Javier Castillo, a performer for McLaren’s Circus who hails from Venezuela.

“My whole family is in the circus,” he told the Courier.

“Four generations of Castillos have worked and lived in the circus, it is who we are.”

Back home, his father has his own circus – Circo Barllin – and Javier spent his whole life on the road with fellow performers.

He has only been in South Africa for three months and barely speaks English, but circus folk communicate on a level deeper than mere language.

We are all familiar with the romance of the “carnie life” as described in books and TV, though Castillo says that is just another day for him.

“Like any life it has its good and bad aspects. It is hard to say how different it is, because I have never known anything else – I have always been on the road with my family. Even as we moved constantly from one place to another, we still had a ‘home’. Our home is in each other.”

Also read: Animal rights activists take on McLaren’s Circus – Ballito

Javier has five brothers and two sisters, all of whom are in circuses around the world.

He said a tough economic climate in Venezuela at the moment had caused the temporary closure of his family circus, which is how he ended up over here.

“In Venezuela circuses are quite common. At any given time there are about 40 circuses travelling the country.”

He said one of the toughest things to get used to in Africa was the multitude of languages.

“In Latin America, 22 countries all speak Spanish. I struggle just with English – how am I supposed to learn another ten languages,” he said with a laugh.

The 35-year-old currently performs the chair balance and wheel of death acts in the circus, but said he could do anything.

“What do you want? Want me to be a trapeze artist or do tricks on a bike? Done. Juggle? Done.

“I can do just about everything as I have had experience with all types of circus acts.”

He said overall his experience with South Africans had been great, describing us as friendly people.

“What is strange to me is the racism in your country. In Venezuela we have black people, white people, Latin people and everything in between – but we don’t really see each other by the colour of our skin.”

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