Maria Lopez was born in Chile and into a circus family. At 30, she’s now part of a legendary Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey troupe traveling all over the U.S. and abroad. She says she couldn’t be happier living life balancing on a high-wire and dodging knives being thrown at her — it’s actually her dream come true.
She also thinks the circus is a perfect environment for her three boys, ages 10, 8, and 6, to grow up in. They travel to a new city weekly in their RV — complete with a kitchen, laundry and beds — getting to know the whole world.
“The company has a teacher, from a regular school, they bring to be part of the Ringling school,” says Lopez. “My sons have to go every day to school like regular kids, and they take tests.”
She sees that her kids are liking the circus life too, but she and her husband are not pushing them to follow in their footsteps.
“Just like my parents let me make my decision, we want the same for them too,” says Lopez, whose parents were second-generation circus performers.
When she was 14, Lopez says her dad got contracted in Mexico (where she later met her husband Jonathan Lopez), and he asked her if she wanted to go and spend her summer vacation with him for three months.
“I lived in the circus…the magical world, and I told my mom, ‘This is my world. I want to be in the circus,’” remembers Lopez. “For my mom, it was very hard. I think it’s the hardest decision she had to make — to let her daughter go to another country, but if she didn’t make the decision to let me make my own decision, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
She is so thankful to her mother, she says, and now, her mother couldn’t be prouder of her.
“For me it’s not a job, it’s a passion, to be part of ‘the greatest show on earth’ — it’s an honor,” says Lopez about being a part of hand-chosen elite of performers from all over the world, including Russia, Bulgaria, Cuba and Brazil. This year, her gold unit has only 36 performers.
The Lopez family (Courtesy Feld Entertainment)
(Courtesy Feld Entertainment)
(Courtesy Feld Entertainment)
(Courtesy Feld Entertainment)
(Courtesy Feld Entertainment)
(Courtesy Feld Entertainment)
When the curtain opens, and she sees the light and feels the live music, she says it feels like a dream.
“I live my dream every day,” says Lopez. “You have to enjoy every single performance and give all of your energy and soul, because the audience can feel your energy. Every show, I give my best.”
She adds that while performing, her husband is not her husband, but her coach and circus partner of 10 years — three of which were with Ringling Bros. During the intermissions, she checks on her kids at the Ringling day care.
“We travel on Sundays when we finish the live show,” says Lopez of their weekly routine. “Monday we get to the next city, and Monday and Tuesday we get off and spend with the kids — it’s family time.”
Nearly a decade later, she says she is so proud to be a part of the Lopez family — a 50-year-old family circus act passed on for four generations that originated in Mexico.
“We are extremely unique,” says the animated performer of three different acts this year, including dancing on a high-wire of 22 feet high without any nets. “The Lopez family has the smallest globe of steel only 12 feet, and we put three motorcycles on it driving more than 60 miles per hour. This year, I’m one of the riders — not too many women have this type of job.”
She says her father-in-law has been throwing real knives on fire really close to her body for years, but they have a flawless relationship.
“We practiced a lot months beforehand,” says Lopez. “Everything has to be controlled. If you move in the wrong way, you can have an accident.”
The Lopez family is currently in Asheville, NC excited to perform their “Fully Charged” show tonight.
“We want to wish a happy Mother’s Day to everyone, and smile always!” says Lopez, who loves making people smile as she brings her viewers into her world of magic. “If you smile, the world is going to be a little better.”
Tagged: chile, circus, family, Lopez Troupe, mexico, mom, mother, Mother's Day, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey
