Marinelli Brothers Circus: A family tradition
Brothers Patrick, left and Josue Marinelli perform with all the acts in the Marinelli Brothers Circus performs at the Stonewood Center on Thursday. (Photo by Keith Durflinger)
DOWNEY — After a successful run in Downey at the Stonewood Center recently, brothers Josue and Patrick Marinelli continue their first year as headliners and have moved on to the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds in Victorville beginning Friday (September 19).
The fifth-generation brothers recently reflected on their life as circus performers and now as the main focus of the circus.
“Well, for us it’s just our life and the life we grew up in,” said Josue Marinelli, who was preparing for his latest performance. “Since it’s five, six generations, it just becomes normal. We all love performing and we feed off the energy from the audience, so that’s very important. When the audience is loud and excited, you feel it too you perform and you give it extra because the audience is going crazy.”
The great part of the Marinelli Brothers Circus is the closeness of the audience from the performers.
“It’s the crowd,” Josue said. “It’s a different feeling, but it’s a nice feeling and just having them there and so close to us and we can hear them, it’s very powerful.”
The Marinelli Brothers Circus is proud to bring their brand-new production, “A New Experience,” with an all-new engagement, bringing its signature mix of magic and heart-pounding excitement, and family fun to a small up-close setting.
This is not your typical big tent with the standard three rings. It’s an intimate tent setting that makes you feel like you’re part of the action, drawing audiences into every gasp-worthy act and awe-inspiring feat.
And of course there are clowns, headed up by the loveable Matti the Clown, whose comedic timing and crowd interaction have made him a favorite with kids and adults alike.
This fresh new production—brought to you by the legendary Circus Vargas family—blends classic circus charm with modern flair. Get ready to be wowed by world-class performers, high-flying acrobatics, gravity-defying stunts, and clowns who’ll have you giggling from start to finish.
A New Circus Experience: Bigger, Bolder, and Built for Family Fun
At the heart of the show are the Marinelli Brothers themselves, famous for their athleticism, artistry, and charm. Their performances on the trampoline wall and Wheel of Danger have captivated crowds throughout California at Circus Vargas over the years and now they’re bringing even more daring feats to their very own production.
This years production is an entirely new show, featuring never-before-seen performances! under the signature Big Top, audiences will experience a nearly two-hour celebration of live performance - from fearless aerialists and acrobats to world-class comedy and illusion.
In a recent visit to the Marinelli Brothers Circus, it was evident that this small group of performers had the “it” factor in entertaining.
The audience was blown away with their talent, their friendliness and their unbelievable performances in the 14 acts that were seen in the 2-hour show.
Perhaps, the final performance, called the “Wheel of Destiney” concluded a show that was over the top and wooed the crowd performing death-defying acrobatics on a two-wheeled moving contraption.
Both brothers, Josue and Patrick, were born into the circus as their parents Alberto and Patricia Marinelli were well-known for their high wire acts and flying trapeze.
The Marinelli Brothers Circus was born out of the Circus Vargas, which has been around for years where all of the family had performed.
This is the first year for the brothers and their mother and father to go on their own. Alberto’s brother Nelson Quiroga is the co-owner of Circus Vargas with his wife Katya, which has been in and around California for a long time.
Splitting off on their own has been in the works for years.
“We’ve been thinking about this for years,” Alberto Marinelli said. “It was really scary in the beginning, because it was a big move, especially to split the family. I was with my brother for so many years in Circus Vargas. We were comfortable.
“The performers in this circus like it that the audience is right there close to them while they are performing.”
As for his two sons, Alberto beams with pride when you mention their names.
“I’m very proud of them (Patrick and Josue) because we’ve seen them from little kids to perform as they are now,” Alberto Marinelli said. “Both of them became very good performers in their own way.
Josue, 38, who is the older brother, said of how it was starting this new adventure. “It’s a very big step,” he said. “We’ve always been performers, and we were performing with my uncle and aunt (Nelson and Katya) all of these years. This is our next step up having our own show. And now, it’s nice to kind of do the things the way we want to do it. You learn always.
Ending the performances is the highlight of the night with the “Wheel of Destiny” or as Patrick keeps referring to it as, the “Wheel of Death.”
Describing the performance, Josue explained how his father wouldn’t let the brothers perform it for years.
He said his father said, “’You’re never going to do this act’”. Well, years later they both have made it a show-stopping act to end the show. “I finally talked him into it.”
The act is best described as two giant wheels tied together, and each brother performs inside doing various dangerous summer saults and jumps. It’s best described as “breath taking,” one person said as they were leaving the show at the end.
Josue’s wife, Celeste, who is a former seventh-generation performer and now in the business end of it, said of the new venture, “It’s a new chapter. It was very emotional, as you can imagine, they (the Marinelli boys) had never left (Circus) Vargas.
“I always say that Alberto is the American dream and now he is a circus owner. The middle of March is when we started, and this is our seventh or eighth city.
I was ok with the transition and was ready for something new and was tired of putting on the ritz.”
Patrick, 31, also talked of the final act, the Wheel of Destiny. “I like death better, instead of destiny,” he said. “I wanted to do this act when I was 18. I was crazy, so my dad wouldn’t let me do it. I’m the wild one.
“I started performing at 13-years-old. I just wanted to be a kid running around with my friends, then I started doing trampolines. I fell in love with this other act, doing an act with Africans, a Kenyen troupe act. It was a tumbling act, some crazy dancing in a talent act. My uncle (Nelson) saw that and the next show I did it for two years straight and then I fell in love with the circus. The performing, looking at the audience and hearing the crowd cheer was all great.”
Patrick also performs an amazing magic act that leaves the crowd wanting to know where the mystery second girl appeared at the end of his act. You have to be there to see it.
However, prior to that performance every act had the crowd cheering, clapping and laughing the whole night.
And what circus wouldn’t be complete without a clown. Matti the Clown, has the crowd in stitches with his multiple performances.
His interaction with the children and adults is the highlight of his antics.
“I’m actually a fifth-generation performer,” said Matti, whose actual name is Matthew Esqueda. “There is a lot of people that are really mixed and that’s the one great thing of circus. It’s diverse. It’s such a nice life. I like it a lot.
“I grew up being an acrobat. My parents were both acrobats. Comedy always drew me, whether it was clowning or whatever. It just drew me.
“Taking the funniest parts that the audience reacted to and I stored them and when I got older, it was my choice. With clowning you can mess up and it’s funny.”
As for the new adventure with the Marinelli Brothers Circus, Matti said, “I think the whole family is real excited and the energy is good,” he said
His big break to enter the world of clowning was when a member of a family that did clowning wasn’t able to make it. “I said pick me and let me try it,” he said. “I was so nervous and they liked me and I kind of just stuck with that and started building and building and just never looked back.”
Matti started with Circus Vargas in 2006.
Matti the Clown invites up four children for an interactive skit. One of those kids, young Zackary Cuevas was beyond excited for his first circus. “I’m excited to be at the circus, he said. “It’s pretty cool. I liked it when they called me. I got dared by my sister to go up. It was fun. My favorite part when the girl disappeared in the magic act.
“You don’t expect what they’re doing.”
After the show, a spectator, Daniel Uredas of Downey said, “It was really good, and this one was more interaction with the audience.”
Don’t miss your chance to be part of the magic if you missed it this past summer. Come see what everyone’s talking about—under the Big Top. The brother and their 11-member troupe will be back in the area at The Lakewood Center, November 14 through December 1.
They also will be performing in Las Vegas, October 17-20 and October 29 – November 3.
What they said:
Patricia Marinelli, wife of Alberto Marinelli: “It’s a happy feeling. We’re doing this because we want them (Josue and Patrick) to have something in the future.
I feel comfortable because we’re doing something that we love and we have a really good team. It feels good and I hope we can keep it going.”
Kiara Poema, 24, sixth generation aerialist: “I never knew anything else and started performing when I was four years old. I think the new show came together very well. We all got along right off the bat. We worked alongside each other to create what we have here.