Raised among trapezoids, tents, boxes, tightrope walkers and jugglers, Flavio mendoza he always vindicated the circus. Although his career took him to different places (dance competitions, as a participant and as a jury, magazine theater, among others), when he reached the highest prestige as an artist, he wanted to give that first love a twist. With the Circus of the Anima, Flavio was once again that boy who ran around the tent and transmits that magic to his three-year-old son, Dionisio.
While enjoying the success of “Stravaganza“, Who is 10 years old and premiered at the Luxor theater by Carlos Paz, the entrerriano dancer, choreographer, artistic director and producer, enjoys the fantasy that is created under the marquee in his show”A magical Christmas”(Parque Sarmiento – until January 9).
News: How are you living this “Magical Christmas”?
Flavio Mendoza: Incredible, it debuted on December 1 and it is a truly magical show, not only because of the story that is told but because of what it feels like. These Christmas mega shows had not been done before in Argentina. It’s like it’s from Radio City in New York. There is a mixture of acrobatics, history, the whole family enjoys it.
News: You have a history with the circus, how was the reinvention of the show?
Mendoza: We wanted to do something different from what we did with the Mahatma in the Circus of the Anima. I really want to do theme shows, such as a Halloween show. Although we have a proper circus show, we want to do special things for some particular dates. It gives me a lot of fantasy to plan it, to decorate the tent. The children who come to the circus take photos with Santa Claus, they leave the letter to him. We seek to recover what we did when we were children. That Christmas spirit is being lost. For the boys it is a very important party. We are of that generation that we were not all the time with the cell phone and the look down, we are of those who thought about the arrival of Santa Claus, who comes flying and brings us gifts. I have a young son and I want him to have that, to recover the magic and not be all so virtual, technological. That is what is driving us away.
News: I imagine you enjoy the holidays …
Mendoza: I love. At Christmas at the circus I would fantasize and imagine what gift they had left me in my aunt’s, my grandmother’s box. It was so cute, a big table was set up inside the circus tent. It was a magical time of the year and I am making my son live that moment. For me it is very important that the boys preserve that fantasy. All those things were what made me the artist that I am today, to believe in magic, in that what does not exist can be possible, that kind of thing seems to me that it is good that they happen.
News: Your three-year-old son Dionisio sees all the work and rehearsals behind your productions. Do you see yourself reflected in your son with that repeated history of the family of artists?
Mendoza: He has a very different personality than I had when I was a kid, I was more introverted, he is raised in this new world. What I like the most about Dio is that he has that look without prejudice., That seems incredible to me of the babies of now. Everything is like relaxed, he is growing up very well. He has that incentive so that he can do whatever he wants when he grows up. We had that thing about They did not teach us to be happy, they taught us that we had to comply. I have another head, I want my son to be happy, to grow up happy, to decide what he wants, as long as it is good. That is the most important.
News: He recently said that he does not rule out giving him a little brother …
Mendoza: At the beginning of the pandemic I was scared, I saw how they fought over toilet paper in the supermarket, the violence of the human being scares me, so cruel, that for money he can do anything. I thought: “If I have to go out and kill zombies with a machete at least one of them, I will be able to protect more”, having two children scared me. But I think we have to bring people to this world who do well, one always puts the focus on those who do wrong. I think that Dionisio and a brother can be kids raised to do things well. I do not rule. I have to be a little stronger myself because being a dad alone, being available 24 hours a day, is difficult.
News: You rowed a lot during the pandemic to keep the theater industry going, do you think that sacrifice was worth it?
Mendoza: I am very proud of what I achieved, I do not say it with pride, but I really worked from day 0 in the middle of the pandemic, I helped many people who needed it, I am a producer who employs many artists, not only in the circus, but also for “Stravaganza”, which turns 10 years old and debuts on December 25 in Carlos Paz, among the schools, the works, there are more than 320 families who live off these shows. I am very proud of that. I feel like I put it on my shoulder a bit. I didn’t have the help I would have wanted, but I think these situations also make you realize where you stand, who you have and who you don’t. One has to be true to oneself, I behaved as I had to behave while there were people who govern us who have not behaved the same.
News: Do you feel that you have the place you deserve in the middle?
Mendoza: I don’t know if I deserve it or not, I know who I am and where I stand. They always ask me what I am going to do next year and I say: “At this point in my life they ask me what I am going to do next year with everything I did and everything I do?” I’m not waiting for the bravest award, but I know what I am and it seems to me that this has an ego issue for the artist. Sometimes artists and people who deserve something are not given it because they think that since they already have a lot, it is preferable not to say it. An award does not change me today, I am looking for something else, I am very proud to be able to see the shows that I do, with the artists on stage with a claw, a power, having been able to support some so that they do not leave the country, because most of them are gone. I am very satisfied with myself.
News: You knew how to be very combative in the media, what happens to you at this point in your career with media conflicts? Do you suffer from it or are you already beyond that?
Mendoza: The truth is that I am giving it the importance it deserves. Everything is changing, society is changing, television is changing, people are looking for something else. I can have an argument with someone, but when he gets ghoulish I run, It is not what I want for my life, I do not want my son to see that, I know that at some point I was a warrior, I have fought, but it was the moment when television asked for that, now I don’t feel like it. Yes, obviously, I will answer if I consider it because I still have my personality, it is not that I became Sai Baba, but I am not interested in being looked for to make a note of that style, it does not work. Throwing someone down to lift mine does not work, I have to do things well so that whoever pays the entrance leaves the theater and says: “Che, go see it at the theater because it’s good.” That is what works, people realize, sometimes the public is underestimated, but the public knows very well what they want.
News: You have been in a relationship a year ago with Waldo Gómez whom you met through social networks, how is love living at this stage?
Mendoza: Very well. I don’t talk much about that topic because it is a decision I made to preserve the personal part. It seems to me that sometimes when they get into it a lot they also play things that should not be touched. I am very well, very happy, in a very full moment of my life. With all the best energy, moving forward.
