the Raluy family

Our Story

The cannon for the Human Bullet of the Raluy Circus.

Photo of Lluís Raluy Iglesias on a chair balancing.

1911

the beginning

The beginnings (1911–1939)

Francisco Raluy, originally from Fonz (Aragon), was a young immigrant who decided to leave with his family for France in search of a more secure future. He found work in the city of Carcassonne, where his son Luis Raluy Iglesias was born on February 11, 1911. With the outbreak of World War I, Francisco decided to return to Spain.

Luis devoted himself to gymnastics from a very young age, and used to frequent the beaches of Barceloneta to practice acrobatics and horizontal bars. The mouth of the Besòs River and Camp de la Bota beach were his training grounds back in the 30s. At that time, he was known as "The Tiger of Sant Adrià."

Coincidentally, barista Juanito Siles came looking for a third member to recompose his trio after the withdrawal of a teammate. In this way, Luis Raluy returned to follow in his father's footsteps, but with impressive results. He joined the famous bar acts of Oliveras and Keistone, walking around the most prestigious European dance floors between the wars.

When the Second World War breaks out, the safest place once again becomes his home in Sant Adrià del Besos, and so he returns to Catalonia.

On Barcelona's Conde de Asalto street (today Carrer Nou de la Rambla), the London Bar is located to this day. In those years the premises were the headquarters and refuge of Spanish artists. There, between its walls adorned with black and white photos and cigarette smoke, people talked about circus stories and techniques, challenges and lessons... dreams.

The London, a quarry of artists, became a true agency, Luis Raluy was a regular frequenter of the place and very quickly found contracts in the best Spanish circuses of those years: Feijóo, Royal, Amoros Silvestrini...

During those tours he met his wife, the Igualadina Marina Tomàs Jorba.

Between tour and tour, show and show, the two see their children born in Sant Adriá: Luis, Carlos, Eduardo and Francis.

Luis Sr. is a hard-working, ambitious and creative man. He himself builds his compressed air cannon and becomes one of the first European Bullet Men.

From the end of the Second World War, this number projected him to the fame of the best European circuses: Cirque d'Hiver de Paris, Cirque Bouglione, Chipperfields Circus, Cirque Amar. Meanwhile, Carlos Luis and Eduardo become talented young acrobats, taking over from their father on the Fixed Bars.

In 1960, the Raluy family left, thanks to a contract with Circo Brasil, on a world tour that would take them from Madagascar to Reunion Island, continuing to Dar es Salan, Lake Victoria, Kampala, Nairobi, Kilimanjaro, Mombasa, Kaulin Island. and Hong Kong.

Returning to Barcelona, the Raluy family fell victim to the 1963 floods, which took away all their properties and the savings from years of work.

But Luis Raluy does not let himself be overwhelmed by events. The numbers of fixed bars, bullet man and his latest invention: the Triple Somersault in a Car, once again excite the public that fills the stands of the circuses Moira Orfei (Italy, sixties), Toni Boltini (Holland, 1968-69 ) and Amar (France, 1970-71).

1972

entrepreneurs

With the savings and after many sacrifices, the Raluys see how the wind caresses their first tent under the Portuguese sky. The family buys the material from the modest Paris Circus - a name that could not be removed due to absurd registration rules - so we have some posters that proclaim on the walls:

Circo de Paris (in very small letters) presents Circo Alabama, the first name of Carlos' productions. In a Portugal that begins to smell like “revolutionary carnations” and communism, Carlos takes advantage of these airs and the circus transforms into the Moscova Circus. The revolution breaks out; Scared by the consequences it could bring, Carlos and his brothers take their material - camouflaged as furniture in moving transports - to Badajoz. In this way, the Extremaduran capital witnessed the transformation of the Moscova Circus into the Moscow Circus.

In 1972 the Raluys were performing at the Blackpool Tower Circus in the city of the same name in the south of England. The decisions and events of this season will mark the beginnings of the Raluy Circus.

Carlos Raluy, Luis's second son, has just married Rosemarie Chy, an artist of Chinese origin naturalized in Germany. Carlos and Rosemarie are expecting a girl, Carlos realizes that the family is getting too big to be able to continue living on an artist's salary. His older brother also has a wife and daughter…

During the summer of 1972, Carlos brought his father and all his brothers together to propose his new project to the family: stop performing for other companies and open his own circus.

The brothers hesitate, but Luis Raluy has complete confidence in Carlos's ambitions and invites everyone to follow him in his ideas.

On September 26, a few months before the Raluys' first tent goes up, Rosa, daughter of Carlos and future director of the Rosa Raluy Circus Theater and the Raluy Historical Circus, is born.

1979

the idea

In those days, a time of “transition”, it began to be common in Spanish circuses to present television characters. The TV Clowns are triumphing among children and the world of the circus, in Spain, begins a slow decline.

Carlos had inherited from his father a nostalgic spirit and passion for old things, things well done. At the end of the 70s “he began to convey to his brothers the idea of transferring this passion to business, creating a circus that represents the time in which his father was triumphing in the great European circuses.

Time in which circus art was at its peak and the great artists became true stars.
Making this idea a reality seems impossible, as it would require many resources! He remembers with nostalgia his family's epic tour with Circo Brasil through African and Asian lands.

He also remembers that Circus Brazil was the first to visit most of those countries... at this moment a question arises: has any other circus entrepreneur thought of returning?

1987

Raluy Circus

In 1984, Carlos and Luis began one of the many “tournaments” in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean: Reunion Island, Guyana, María Galante, Sant Barthelemy, Guadaloupe, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Barbados, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica. The Raluy family is well known among the public in the tropics for their shows, as they are often the only circus that visits such archipelagos.

It should not surprise us, then, that on certain islands the influx of people easily exceeds one hundred percent of the population. These regular tours continued for 10 years, in 1987 they also visited Germany with the intention of experiencing the “Old Fashioned Circus.” On this occasion the name Circo Raluy appears for the first time.

At the end of 1995, the Raluy returned to Spain and took a step forward in its aesthetic design: the marquee returned to its round shape, abandoning the Italian domes; the interior was covered in red velvet, and the imperial-style boxes were adorned with wooden carvings.

The Raluy has established itself as an intimate, warm, and personality-filled circus, to the point that critics are beginning to define it as a "chamber circus."

The show is essentially a family affair, and the third generation begins to make their presence felt on the dance floor: Rosa and her cousins, Luisa and Kerry, prove to be exceptional artists. Their respective partners also join: Jerzy Swider, Luisa's husband, who starts as a groom and soon becomes a versatile artist; and William Giribaldi, a young juggler and acrobat, who joins as a contracted artist and soon becomes a key player in the new artistic and administrative management.

"Circo Raluy is the sum of everything I love about the fantastic world of..." performing arts «

1996

beginning of a legend

At the end of 1996, the Raluy Circus Museum received the National Circus Award from the Ministry of Culture, which not only praised and recognized the artistic quality of its shows, but also its efforts to preserve the circus heritage.

It has triumphed among Madrid critics, participated as a guest show in the prestigious Almagro Classical Theatre Festival, toured Catalonia successfully, and performed in the heart of Málaga as part of the International Theatre Festival.

1997 is also a key year for Raluy's career; In December of that year, for the first time, the historic wagons and the beautiful marquee Carlos and family settle for the first time in Barcelona's Port Vell for the Christmas campaign. Success is sensational! Between performances and applause another nice surprise also arrives: Kimberley Giribaldi Raluy (first daughter of Pinky William)… the fourth generation of the family has arrived!

In the years that follow, the successes and events multiply that will turn Circus Raluy into the world reference that it is today and, above all, the most representative circus in Catalonia.

On October 27, 1999, Jillian Giribaldi Raluy, Rosa's second daughter, was born in this city... the future of the Raluy Circus is already assured with the Raluy Sisters!

2016

the separation

In October 1999, during the Raluy Circus's first appearance at the Girona Fair, Jillian was born. And on that same occasion, a new adventure also began. Carlos, always restless and true to his nomadic spirit, met his cousin Sergio Rodríguez Raluy, a tenor living in Buenos Aires. And once again, as he himself used to say, "the hardest part is yet to come": the Raluy Circus Museum embarks on a tour of Argentina.

The reception from the South American public was extraordinary. In Mar del Plata, in January 2000, the circus received the Estrella de Mar, one of the country's most prestigious awards, as well as the National Golden Lighthouse Award. The success spread to other cities, and Argentine critics celebrated the arrival of a European circus of true artistic stature. At the same time, in Spain, the General Society of Authors and Publishers (SGAE) awarded the Raluy Circus the Max Award, reaffirming its cultural significance.

Back in Catalonia, the company resumed its national tours, but now with a different perspective: Carlos's project is not only artistic—it's heritage. The Raluy Circus Museum began to be perceived as a unique cultural institution, capable of preserving and transmitting the essence of classical European circus in the 2003st century. In XNUMX, a new tour began in northern Europe: Luxembourg, Belgium, and Norway. In Oslo, the entire company was received by the mayor himself in a hall that usually hosts the Nobel Prize ceremony. A powerful symbol: high culture embracing the circus as an equally worthy and universal art form.

Starting in 2004, the Raluy Circus Museum tours became more regular. Every year, between June and September, the company visits Réunion Island (a French colony in the Indian Ocean), where it is already well-known and beloved by local audiences. The rest of the year, the circus tours throughout Catalonia, strengthening an emotional connection with the region and consolidating its roots in Catalonia. The Christmas campaigns in Barcelona, which began with great success in the late 90s, became a highly anticipated event for the public and a hallmark of the company.

In 2006, Carlos and Lluís Raluy received the Creu de Sant Jordi, the highest award given by the Catalan government to outstanding citizens and institutions. A traveling, family-run circus faithful to its classical aesthetic received the same recognition as the country's artists, scientists, and intellectuals.

During this period, the Raluy Circus Museum experienced one of its most solid and renowned stages. Tours throughout Catalonia and Aragon became regular and highly anticipated. Fairs, festivals, and local festivals included the Raluy as an element of cultural prestige and popular attraction.

During these years, a discreet but significant change also took place within the company's management: Lluís Raluy, Carlos's older brother and head of administration for over three decades, gradually reduced his involvement due to health reasons. His contribution had been fundamental: a man of numbers, methodical, and rigorous, he provided the perfect balance to Carlos's dreamy and expansive spirit. Together they had built a unique project, where artistic passion and orderly management went hand in hand. Around 2014, Lluís completely relinquished business and artistic responsibilities, but remained emotionally connected to the project. 2016 – A separation and a new path: the Raluy Historic Circus.

With Lluís Raluy's gradual withdrawal from active management, the family project is entering a natural transition period.

After more than four decades of joint history, with great successes and intense moments, the differences in criteria and vision for the future between the different branches of the family became more visible. In 2016, sisters Luisa and Kerry Raluy, daughters of Lluís, decided to undertake their own project under a new name: Circo Raluy Legacy. This decision, although not shared by all, responds to the desire to shape their own artistic and business paths. Faced with this new scenario, Carlos Raluy, faithful to the spirit that had guided the creation of the original circus, opted to reconfigure the family project under a new identity that highlights its essence and historical journey: Thus was born the Circo Histórico Raluy, as a direct continuation of the circus founded in 1972. This name is not only a legal title, but an affirmation of commitment to the history, aesthetics, and values that have defined the project since its inception. It is also a way of showcasing the heritage accumulated over more than forty years of effort and dedication.

2019

the legacy

In 2019, Rosa Raluy is touring Catalonia with a new show under the new Teatro Circo Rosa Raluy tent. The show called Vekante (a word from the Esperanto language) is revealed to be totally innovative within the framework of the Raluy productions, managing to add touches of contemporary circus to the classic aesthetic. Awarded the Zirkolika Prize for the best circus show 2019, he received all the favor of critics during his visit to the Girona Fair.

On November 23, 2019, just days before the start of the new Christmas season in Barcelona, Carlos Raluy passed away suddenly in the Catalan capital. His death leaves an immense void, but his dream, his work, and his aesthetic live on in every detail of the project he built. His family, the public, and the circus world recognize what Carlos meant: a visionary creator, a champion of the circus as cultural heritage, and an artist who fought to preserve the soul of his craft. The Circo Raluy Histórico, now under the direction of Rosa Raluy, not only continues his legacy but honors it with consistency, respect, and passion.

Rosa Raluy, accompanied by her husband William Giribaldi and her daughters Kimberley and Jillian, is now at the head of the company, ensuring the continuity of the most representative circus in Catalonia and Spain: the historic “Circo Raluy”