At the age of five he wanted to join the Boys’ Circus to learn trapeze. Now, she has just debuted as the new artistic director of the Teatro Circo Price in Madrid. Aránzazu Riosalido (Madrid, 49 years old) is passionate about “the first performing art that we came into contact with as children.” She is an expert in cultural management and intellectual property and has directed the Actúa Center – the high-performance space for actors and dancers of AISGE (Artists Performers Management Society) – for ten years. She co-wrote Nineteen seventy hats together with the actor Pepe Viyuela, released in the middle of the pandemic to a full house, whose script was recently presented at the Book Fair.
Why did you fall in love with the circus?
For the passion for risk and height. My parents always took me to the sales circus tents, taking advantage of the fact that we lived nearby, and I was deeply fascinated by it. As an adult, I have marveled at the freedom of the circus industry: in the circus there have never been borders or religions, nor discrimination based on age or sex. Already in the sixties, women enjoyed unusual autonomy: they could drive trucks and contradict their husbands.
How does the circus reappear in your life?
Through Jaime de Armiñán, filmmaker and circus enthusiast. Your book circus biography, Published in 1958, it was a true gem: it contains illustrations by prestigious artists. The discovery completely fascinated me and made me relive the circus experience of my childhood, so I decided to republish it in 2014 with the Pepitas de Calabaza publishing house. It was a personal project that I did selflessly, out of love for Jaime and the circus. Curiously, yesterday (April 9) Jaime de Armiñán died. I like to think that he has given me a track relay because I have joined the management of Price practically at the same time (April 15).
Where does your knowledge of circus history come from?
Following the reissue of the book, I began to research the history of the circus in Madrid and Spain. I acquired a remarkable library and began giving lectures on the subject. I am especially fascinated by the character of Miss Mara, a world-famous trapeze artist noted for neck holds and international suspension without a net and at high altitude. At the height of her career she suffered a fall of fourteen meters from which she recovered with great expectation: on the day of her return at Madison Square Garden in New York, eighteen thousand spectators saw her. Additionally, I did extensive research to create the dramaturgy of Nineteen seventy hatsa performance performed at the Price in 2020 in which we recovered mythical names from the circus such as Ramón Gómez de la Serna or Charlie Rivel.
When did the Circo Price Theater emerge?
It was born in 1868. It was originally a wooden circus located on the Paseo de Recoletos in Madrid, founded by Thomas Price, an Irish rider who settled in Madrid and who introduced spectacular ring acts. The building was destroyed in a fire and they gave it a new space in Madrid’s Plaza del Rey, which was bombed during the Civil War. Once rebuilt, it lived its time of greatest splendor, becoming the temple of the circus in Europe -it welcomed the most prestigious European artists who came fleeing the Second World War-. Later, he settled in Ronda de Atocha, in an old cookie factory, where he is currently. The Price has a history of one hundred and fifty years throughout which it has maintained its name.
How do you describe the role of Circo Price in the cultural panorama of Madrid?
I always say that Madrid is a circus city because it was the City Council itself that built it in 2007, during the mandate of Álvarez del Manzano. It is one of the very few municipal theater-circus in the world. My greatest ambition is to return the Price to the cultural relevance it had when it reached the top of the international cultural scene, hosting all types of shows, in addition to the circus: concerts, cabaret, magic, flamenco festivals.
How do you define your project as the head of the Price’s artistic direction?
The Price has been one of the great historical references of the city, both in the artistic field and for the citizens. In the past, people from all provinces came to see the Price shows with artists who were idolized as the great stars of Hollywood. Pinito del Oro, for example, was like a Greta Garbo. I have a personal commitment to return to the circus that Madrid brand of its most prosperous years for which a great longing continues to be felt among the specialized public.
What new features do you intend to incorporate into your management?
The circus brings together all the performing arts: acting, music, dance, acrobatics, but above all, it always has a note of humor and is suitable for all audiences. For this reason, I am going to promote the creation of a laughter festival that connects with those endorphins that we secrete when, as adults, we take our children to the circus and connect with our inner children. I also intend to recover the flamenco festival that we will schedule in the summer so that tourists can see the best flamenco in the city at the Price.
What can we expect from the new programming?
Future programming will be designed for all audiences: for all sectors, tastes, ages. We are going to bet on innovative shows that incorporate digital tools combined with the most familiar ones and we are going to implement inclusion initiatives. Our goal is for the spectator to feel immersed in a stage space that is not comparable to any other theater and to live a new experience in each performance with a multidisciplinary space that mutates with each performance. And, of course, I want the children of this city to grow up with the germ of the circus.
