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Center Ring With The Best Juggler In Nicaragua

By Nancy Levldow -San Francisco, Callfornia

DOES JUGGLING HAVE A PLACE IN revolutionary Nicaragua? Absolutely, I recently discovered. Amidst the political upheaval and reconstruction in Nicaragua today, the Sandinista government is supporting cultural development, especially the popular circuses.

On a sunny tropical Sunday in January, a big crowd waited expectantly at the blue and yellow tent of Circo Nacional, the new National Circus in Managua. The two-hour show included many traditional circus acts, but the most captivating was the featured juggler, Osmar. This 38-yearold dynamo of self-taught juggling skill and enthusiasm presents a dazzling seven minute routine with a Central American flair.

From his running four club entrance to a four sombrero finale, he exudes charm and excitement. His opening three and four club sequences include clean shoulder throws, back crosses, and front-to-back under-the-Ieg throws. Ball spinning comes next, followed by bouncing the ball on his head during a five ring juggle. He completes the rings by pulling all five down over his head, and then moves on to a fire devil stick.

During nighttime shows, all eyes follow the whooshing trails of fire under his leg, behind his back, round in one-handed circles, and eventually high up to the top of the tent as he pirouettes below for a kneeling catch.

Next, Osmar juggles three golf balls and catches them in three net pockets attached to a belt; one behind him and one on each hip. With a well-concealed move, the three white spheres become ping-pong balls, jumping in and out of his mouth.

Sombreros are featured in his finale. Placing one on his head, he first tossjuggles three hats. Then he shoots them out in front and up, one at a time, and they return like frisbees. While circling the ring (so the hats are flying out over , spectators in the front rows) he adds the fourth hat. into the frisbee action, keeping the remaining three in motion on and off his head.

To the quickening tempo of his closing music, he tosses aside the fourth hat and spins himself around the ring like a top. Amid the three flying hats he twirls out of the ring.

Audiences love this rapid-fire act and reward his hard work with generous applause. In addition, he occasionally includes a fluid foot juggling routine or a beautifully choreographed plate-spinning scene in his act.

I MET OSMAR AND THE REST OF Circo Nacional while on a month-long cultural exchange trip to Nicaragua with 15 other San Francisco area artists. Our goal was to discover what was happening in this country undergoing revolutionary change, especially in the arts. Hosted by the A.S.T.C. (Sandinista Cultural Workers Association) in Managua, our ten-day tour included meeting with artists and workers, touring hospitals, factories, housing projects, and national parks, attending a land reform ceremony and, yes, Circo Nacional. As the only performer among painters, photographers, and journalists, I sought out the circus and jugglers on my own after the scheduled tour ended.

At the suggestion of Ben Linder, a unicyclist, clown, and juggler from the Pacific Northwest now living in Managua, I solicited donations of circus and juggling equipment from local jugglers before I left. Their generosity yielded two suitcases full of everything from ten clubs to clown noses and make-up.

Armed with these donations and a minimal command of a few Spanish phrases, Ben and I went to meet the performers between shows. They were instantly friendly, open, and very glad to see North Americans. Later that night during the evening show, Ben and I officially presented the equipment with some comic club passing. The audience cheered their support for the internationalistas (foreign supporters) promoting U.S. Nicaraguan circus ties.

I went to the circus as often as possible during the rest of my visit. Naturally, Osmar and I tossed some clubs around, and right away he saw the potential for a joint performance. Though he preferred his five homemade clubs (wooden dowel handles and bamboo body supports covered with paper and tape), in order to pass six matching clubs we used the donated short-handled Europeans.

Osmar was always eager to work, and despite my poor Spanish and his minimal English, we worked up a practice regimen.

Osmar practices four or five hours most days, as he has done since he began juggling at age 14. Born into a Guatemalan circus family, he has performed throughout most of Central and South America. He chooses to make his home in Nicaragua because there is much less oppression than in his native Guatemala. He lives with his wife Yamilett and their two young daughters in his camper behind the circus.

ALL OF HIS EQUIPMENT IS HOMEmade, since there is none available. Nicaraguan cordobas are not accepted in exchange for dollars, so ordering props is impossible. Though he admired the flashy colors on the U.S.-made clubs, he found them too heavy, especially for five club work.