Al Amin Shrine Circus returns to Corpus Christi this week
Six-ton Bo is believed to be the largest male performing elephant in the world.Damen Clow/Special to the Caller-Times
January 19, 2011
CORPUS CHRISTI — For a few seconds one May afternoon in Pennsylvania 12 years ago, David Smith Jr. had a world record. Then his 56-year-old father fell out of the sky and crushed it.
Now the younger of the two human cannonballs (and there are several others in the family) is resurrecting his father's role in the Al Amin Shrine Circus, which returns to Corpus Christi this weekend for five shows at the American Bank Center.
"My dad was a crazy mix of physics and engineering," Smith, whose flight of 181 feet, 1 inch is second only to his father's 185 foot, 10-inch flight, told the Bangor (Maine) Daily News last August. "He's kind of an Einsteiny kind of guy; he even had the hairdo."
This year marks the debut of trainer Vicenta Pages' white tigers, which kick off the two-hour shows.
Proving that you can take the nurse out of the circus, but you can't take the circus out of the nurse, Audrey Michelle Alvarado returns as the show's mistress of ceremonies.
CORPUS CHRISTI — For a few seconds one May afternoon in Pennsylvania 12 years ago, David Smith Jr. had a world record. Then his 56-year-old father fell out of the sky and crushed it.
Now the younger of the two human cannonballs (and there are several others in the family) is resurrecting his father's role in the Al Amin Shrine Circus, which returns to Corpus Christi this weekend for five shows at the American Bank Center.
"My dad was a crazy mix of physics and engineering," Smith, whose flight of 181 feet, 1 inch is second only to his father's 185 foot, 10-inch flight, told the Bangor (Maine) Daily News last August. "He's kind of an Einsteiny kind of guy; he even had the hairdo."
This year marks the debut of trainer Vicenta Pages' white tigers, which kick off the two-hour shows.
Proving that you can take the nurse out of the circus, but you can't take the circus out of the nurse, Audrey Michelle Alvarado returns as the show's mistress of ceremonies.
Ringmaster Audrey Michelle Alvarado is a former nurse and one of very few female masters of ceremonies in the industry.Born into a circus family with whom she first performed at age 6, the El Paso native left the life from age 14 to 22 to finish her education and pursue a career in nursing before marrying a former circus acrobat and returning to the big top to become one of the world's few female ringmasters.
"I have the best job in the entire world," said the ringmistress, a former aerialist and animal worker and mother of three. "I help to bring joy into the lives of everyone who comes to the circus."
Performers from 15 countries make up the show, which includes BMX stunts and high-speed motorcycle maneuvers, aerialist showgirls, high-wire and trapeze acts, clown antics and more.
Trainer Vicenta Pages leads the debut of the Al Amin Shrine Circus' white tiger act this weekend at the American Bank Center.Six-ton crowd favorite Bo, the largest performing male elephant in the world, plays the harmonica, trumpet and drums, and can toss a perfect spiral to his handlers when throwing the football backstage.
Audience members are welcome into the rings before the shows, during intermission and after to meet stars, ride ponies and elephants and take photographs.
"There are so many different aspects to the circus and how it affects people," said executive producer Bill Cunningham, whose troupe visits 120 locations in 43 weeks each year, performing more than 450 shows. "There's something magical and mysterious about it. It's a unifying experience, an escape, and fun for multigenerational audiences."
The Al Amin Shrine Circus is a fundraising event for the Al Amin Shriners, best known for their community service, civic involvement in local parades and for their support of the Shriners Hospital for children.
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