Word: alegria
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Cirque's triumph is that it has kept to the point, to its earliest mission of blending circus with theater. And if the meta-Broadway superproduction Mystere is the most theatrical of Cirque shows so far, Alegria is the most circusy, the most intimate, traditional, European. Though it boasts wondrous sets and costumes -- an aviary motif with acrobat birds in brilliant plumage -- it is dominated by the clowns, most of them Russian, with a dolorous wit and poignant stories to tell. In one sketch a clown-bird perches alone on a telegraph wire (a rope stretched across the stage) enjoying...
...Alegria is full of these delicate moments, laced with wonder. The "fast- track" act -- 14 acrobats racing and bouncing on trampoline strips embedded in the stage -- allows for both solo dazzledry and daredevil group synchronization; it's like a playground of gifted children who actually get along. So do the girl duos of tightrope artists (Chinese) and contortionists (Mongolian). And everywhere are the stately clowns, peering through their gilded, glassless mirrors at the enraptured audience...
...ever since Governors appointed by Washington before World War II attempted to impose English through the school system. (Spain ceded the island to the U.S. after the Spanish-American War of 1898.) "There was resentment, trauma, about being forced to learn all subjects in English years ago," says Ricardo Alegria, executive director of the Center for Advanced Studies in San Juan. Those memories, he speculates, cause many to resist learning English even today. Insular identity remains sacrosanct. Last week, after Madonna caressed herself with the Puerto Rican flag during a San Juan concert, politicians of all stripes raised angry criticism...
When it comes to throwing a party, Spanish alegria, the joy of living, is infectious. Nonetheless, for many Spaniards old "cliches" like El Vacie are all too present. In Seville, a conservative coalition threw the Expo-promoting Socialists out of city hall last spring. "The state wastes money building pharaonic bridges and highways," says new Mayor Alejandro Rojas Marcos. "But it neglects schools, drug problems and employment." In recent months wildcat strikes shut down Asturias coal mines; an eight-week bus-driver walkout crippled Madrid; Basque steel workers fired homemade rockets at police, and La Mancha farmers blocked the roads...
...from Florida to the few insomniacs awake in Havana when the signal came in at 1:30 a.m. Within minutes, jammers blocked TV Marti's signal, denying Havana the delights of a Spanish-dubbed Kate & Allie sitcom, World Series reruns, a Spanish game show called La Feria de la Alegria (The Happiness Fair) and MTV music videos...