December 25-31, 2013
www.theplayatimes.com Weekly, Year 01, Number 13, 16 Pages
Cirque du Soleil iN paradise
theplayatimes~Agency
By María Morote
H
racters took preference and where no were animals used. This style was called contemporary circus or ‘nouveau cirque’ in French. Cirque du Soleil has more than 5,000 employees and each show takes two years of preparation and rehearsal before going on tour. According to its official web site, cirquedusoleil.com, the inspiration for the shows comes from the wide variety of artistic disciplines around the world, where modern and classic features are combined. Investment issues aside, the new Cirque du Soleil permanent location will be a new and exciting alternative to entertainment here in Riviera Maya and one that will certainly be embraced by Playa del Carmen’s eclectic population. theplayatimes~Agency
ere in the Riviera Maya there has always been a great drive and initiative for getting involved in the organization of great performances like the BPM, Riviera Maya Jazz Festival, Festival of Culture of the Caribbean, Heineken Winter Beach, and the new Hard Rock Hotels. Now the Riviera Maya is set to be the ideal place for a new permanent venue for Cirque du Soleil, which is estimated to be open November 2014. The news became public in September through an interview with Daniel Chávez Ruiz, the president of the Vidanta Group, one of the biggest hotel development companies in Mexico, in the newspaper Milenio. He related that one of his latest initiatives was the construction of a theater for a permanent Cirque du Soleil show within the Mayan hotel chain, which would cost 20,000,000 USD. The opening will coincide with the 30th anniversary of Cirque du Soliel, born in 1984 in Quebec, Canada, and created by street artists Guy Laliberté and Daniel Gauthier. It will be the first permanent Cirque du Soleil show in Latin America. The performance will be exclusive, with 250 VIP seats for a dinner show, and it will have a maximum capacity of 1,000 spectators. Since the creation of Cirque du Soleil, its popularity has grown exponentially, with nine different shows going on tour around the world, besides Mexico, the circus has planned to take its performances to Brazil and China during the next five years. The Canadian company was the pioneer of this more theatrical style of circus where the story and the cha-