When Mallorca Had Its First Circus

The big top has arrived in town. The Circo Alegría will be providing the thrills and spills, the clowns and the trappings of the contemporary circus, such as laser, until the new year. This current Circo Alegría, it is probably safe to say, is not linked to a Circo Alegría of the nineteenth century. The name was really a nickname. It was formally known as the Circo Ecuestre Barcelonés - the equestrian circus of Barcelona. It was a circus theatre with 3,000 seats in the Plaça Catalunya and it existed between 1879 and 1895.

This was a circus which, through translation, was "happiness", "merriment" or "joyfulness": take your pick. It was one of a host of circuses which developed in Catalonia and other parts of Spain during the nineteenth century. The first ever circus in Spain is said to have been the Circo Olímpico in Madrid from 1830. This was a time when the circus, as we think of it nowadays, was becoming increasingly popular in Europe, its actual origins being attributed to Newcastle-born Philip Astley, who hit on the idea of a show with horse tricks, tightrope walkers, ventriloquists and other acts in 1768 before having a permanent, wooden circus built in Westminster in 1779 and exporting the idea to France three years later.

The idea caught on pretty rapidly, crossing initially into Spain in 1789 with a performance at the Teatro Principal in Reus by the French horseman, Jean Gadis Colman, who was followed by Italian acrobats who were to appear in Barcelona in 1800. These weren't circuses as such. They were individual acts associated with the circus, and this, by and large, was how the circus was to develop in regions like Catalonia, the emphasis being on acrobatics.

It does, of course, depend a great deal on definition, because types of circus act had been around for much longer. In the early sixteenth century, for instance, there was reference by one Baltasar de Castiglione to "gentlemen" and "noblemen" who performed tightrope acts and acrobatic tumbling, and there are various other examples of the existence of such public performances in Spain from roughly the same time. (Indeed, it seems as though Castiglione was recommending such activities to the courtesan class of the time.) Through the eighteenth century, something of a business grew up through "gymnastic" displays, and so by the end of that century, the "Diario de Madrid" was able to refer to spectaculars which offered companies of acrobats and tightrope walkers whose entertainment was "greatly appreciated".

The first reference to some sort of professional circus-style performance in Mallorca seems to be from 1841 when one Angel Martínez (and company) put on a show of acrobatics at the bullring in Palma. Such was the occasion that the performance culminated in a fireworks' display and a hot-air balloon lifting off into the evening sky. Angel was certainly still at it until 1853, having taken his show, or so it would appear, to other parts of the island.

But the circus, as it was truly to become, was largely the product of an Irishman, Thomas Price. In 1846, he first appeared at Madrid's Circo Olímpico. Both acrobat and clown, Price became a businessman and, in 1866, launched one of Spain's most famous circuses, the Circo Price. Spain's National Library has a collection of posters for the Price circus, the earliest ones from 1874 and 1875. Among the acts were The Pirates of the Savana, the Algerian Arabs and the Aerial Bamboo.

And it was at that time that Mallorca acquired its first circus theatre. It was called the Teatre Circ Balear. The site on which it stood in S'Hort del Rei was to become the Teatro Lírico, mentioned previously in connection with the development of film-making in Mallorca. Before the Lyric Theatre was built and opened in 1902, there had been a construction which had the distinct look of a circus tent or, as has been suggested, a style like a Chinese temple. It was red and white, sixteen metres high and made of wood.

The story of this original circus is not well documented. But it is evident that it went into decline. Before it was demolished to make way for the Lyric, a first-hand witness account recalls that "enchanting" circus theatre which, by then, was in any event falling down. The circus had stories of the "lovely Geraldine", who had seemingly caused a scandal on the island, of an ancient galleon, of the "beautiful Talia" and her music, of the clowns, of the Chinese wise men and of the "absurd" Don Hilarión.

It was all a long time ago, but like the Circo Alegría of Barcelona it brought joy and merriment. The witness said of the old circus that it was "marvellous and adventurous", a memory of the "happy, early years of my childhood".

A State Of Welfare? Circus animals

If you happened to be driving along a Mallorcan road one evening and you were confronted by the sight of two tons of hippopotamus lumbering in your general direction, you might have cause to be somewhat surprised. It isn't common to just come across a hippopotamus in Mallorca, as it also isn't common to just come across a camel or a lion cub. But it isn't unknown, and the reason why is that they have all escaped in the past from circuses; Pipo the melon-eating hippo on more than one occasion.

Pipo's most recent excursion occurred in January. He (or possibly she) had previously made him or herself acquainted with Felanitx before taking a look around Marratxí. Where next? Alcúdia possibly, as Pipo has taken up residence as part of the Circo Roma Dola.

Places in Mallorca where Pipo or the odd camel or lion cub might decide to become an animal tourist are gradually becoming fewer. Capdepera is the most recent municipality to ban circuses with animals. In Spain, unlike quite a number of countries, there is no ban on animals; it is down to town halls to decide whether circuses can bring wildlife with them or not. Alcúdia says they can, Pollensa says they can't, as they also can't in Artà, Consell, Manacor, Palma, Puigpunyent, Santa María del Camí, Sóller and Valldemossa.

Pollensa town hall approved a ban in late October last year. This provoked a challenge by the association of Spanish circuses and a Balearics circus company which drew into question the legality of the ban, especially if a circus were to take place on private land. The challenge also questioned the validity of the ban as there was some alleged duress applied by the presence of AnimaNaturalis animal-rights protesters at the open session at which the ban was agreed.

AnimaNaturalis has certainly been instrumental in seeking to have animals removed from circuses. Without mentioning the group specifically, the Circo Roma Dola on its Facebook page stated that the decision to ban animals in Capdepera was one brought about solely by the desire of animal-rights organisations to generate publicity.

Well, yes, the animal-rights organisations probably are seeking to generate publicity. This tends to be what they do when they wish to draw attention to what they consider to be a contravention of animal rights. For circuses, such as the Circo Roma Dola, a different right is being contravened as a consequence, or so it continues to say in its Facebook page statement, and this is the right of the "classic circus" to work with animals. It also says that this work is recognised as an important part of European culture by the European Parliament and that the welfare of animals is not being considered (by the animal-rights objectors, that is).

It is this last bit, about animal welfare, that AnimaNaturalis would quite naturally disagree with. In addition to concerns about security, as evidenced by instances in which animals have escaped, it flatly rejects the circuses' welfare claim. The Capdepera decision, adopted unanimously by the town hall administration, was couched in terms that AnimaNaturalis would have approved (and did); the "seeking of a society free from animal mistreatment".

AnimaNaturalis has staged protests against both the Circo Roma Dola and the Circo Williams. The Williams circus has been a regular visitor to Alcúdia, and Roma Dola is camped in the town until later this month. But it isn't only animal-rights groups which are voicing their protests. I am told that British tourists are as well, in that some have been walking out of the Roma Dola circus while others have expressed their disgust. What the tourists have objected to in particular (or at least what is alleged to have occurred during one show) was the whipping of lions and the beating of camels' legs in order to make the camels kneel down. While the lions were being hit, I understand, the announcer was calling for calm, as in "tranquilo". One assumes he wasn't addressing the lions.

British sensitivity towards animals is different to that in Spain, though the British Government is dragging its heels over what was intended to be a total ban on wild animals in circuses from the start of this July. But the circuses are also sensitive. Are they not? One comes back to that statement about animal welfare, to which one can add the defence that circuses comply with instructions from veterinary officials at the Council of Mallorca and the Guardia Civil's Seprona division. This defence was one that was made in challenging Pollensa town hall's ban.

I have no reason to believe that the circuses do mistreat their animals, but there is the animals' general welfare and their welfare while "performing". Some tourists, at least, would disagree with the welfare argument.


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.

MALLORCA TODAY - Circuses challenge Pollensa animal ban

Representatives of circuses have written to Pollensa town hall claiming that the town hall's decision to ban animals from circuses is not legally valid. They claim that the decision would not, for example, prevent circuses with animals on private land and that the decision could also be interpreted to prevent animals partaking in any form of fiesta in the town.

They Shoot Horses Don't They

If you were to just stand under the baking sun for an hour or so, you would get pretty damn hot. You would also get stressed, then distressed. You are a warm-blooded animal. Heat without movement or relief is not good for you. Horses are warm-blooded animals, too. You are probably familiar with the white marks around the neck as some "sweat up" before a race. Why, therefore, would you let a horse stand under a hot sun without relief for an hour or so? The answer is that you probably wouldn't.

There was a short piece in "The Bulletin" yesterday which said that tourists had been unhappy at the sight of horses standing around in the sun. These are the horses that take those tourists on their horse-and-carriage rides; in this case, in Playa de Muro. There was a suggestion also that a horse appeared to be injured. The tourists contacted an animal rights group.

I was told yesterday that some tourists had been to the circus, Circo Williams, in Puerto Alcúdia. They had complained about the bears at the circus; that the animals had seemed distressed and not necessarily in the best of condition. They had wondered how "the Spanish" could allow such a thing.

In the village of Fornalutx on Saturday, there was the annual "bull run". This involves a bull being pulled along with ropes around its neck, then being allowed to run through the streets before finally being killed and eaten. There had been protests prior to the event.

You might just detect a certain theme to these three examples.

The apparent indifference to animal welfare continues, despite laws to grant rights to animals. I am wary of the local animal cruelty debate. Wary because of the expatriate propensity to be sanctimonious and to start telling the locals how they should run their affairs. You may recall a previous piece on bullfighting. I am not in favour of banning it, nor though do I like it. Whether it continues or is terminated should be a matter for the Spanish people to decide. It is not an issue whereby busy-bodying Brits should act with some sort of missionary zeal against the actions of perceived heathens.

That all said, how on Earth can something like the bull run be allowed? Just the basics of the description above are grotesque enough. While one can defend the bullfight from the point of view of its spectacle and theatre, there can be no similar defence for this. It is cruelty dressed up as tradition minus the costumes and olés. At least that is how it seems if one adopts an anthropomorphic sentimentalism, which may run counter to a less squeamish local culture.

There is a scientific debate going on regarding the extent to which animals have feelings. The debate falls into two schools, of which one - the ethological - maintains that there is evidence as to the existence of animal feelings. Notwithstanding the semantic and therefore philosophical difficulty of applying a word associated with human reactions to an animal, I am not unpersuaded by the ethological argument. Yet there remains the ambiguity of ever proving it. To this end, it is understandable that the debate, in layman terms, is polarised at one extreme by those who attribute to animals all forms of human emotion and at the other those who consider animals to be totally non-sentient in being unable to perceive, i.e. make a mental judgement: dumb animals, if you like. The Spanish, one guesses, are less prone to apply the former extreme than many British.

But there is an illogic as to what is deemed acceptable or unacceptable here. I cannot understand what the fuss is about where the now-banned duck throwing of the Can Picafort summer fiesta is concerned. I understand it even less when a bull is pursued, slain and then scoffed as part of another fiesta. It makes no sense. Perhaps ducks have more professional lobby groups than do bulls.

The circus comes to town once a year. I can remember when the circus used to come to our town when I was young. I can remember the clowns, the acrobats, the elephants, the lions. They stopped the performing animals long ago. But here they carry on. At least they don't kill bulls at circuses, and they don't shoot horses, do they?


REAL MALLORCA - THE DEAL DONE?
After the procrastination and a considerable amount of column inches devoted to will they, won't they, it would appear that Paul Davidson's acquisition of Real Mallorca is drawing to a completion. Yesterday an agreement was signed for him to pay 38 million euros for a 93% holding. This is not the final part of the equation or the final date, which is 15 October, but it would seem that the British businessman will indeed now be the club's new owner. Good luck.


QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Three Dog Night (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWMt5Hk0E-g), but Randy Newman wrote it, and The Animals performed it first. Today's title - yes, it was a film, but which Welsh group had a hit with it?

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