{"id":253,"date":"2012-05-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-03T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/circo\/"},"modified":"2025-02-19T18:57:23","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T02:57:23","slug":"circo","status":"publish","type":"films","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/circo\/","title":{"rendered":"Circo"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Ponce family circus has been living and performing in rural Mexico for seven generations. Its history dates back to the late 19th century, when Genaro Ponce founded the Circo Ponce Hermanos. Today, the circus members are still carrying on their ancestors\u2019 traditions. But their performing days may be numbered.<\/p>\n

Tino, the ringmaster, has long been driven by his dream to lead his parents\u2019 circus to success. He urges everyone in the family, including his four young children, to help meet this goal. But Tino\u2019s wife Ivonne is determined to make a change. Feeling exploited by her in-laws, she regrets that her children have spent their childhoods laboring in the circus. Can Tino choose between his circus dreams and a wife who wants a better life for their children?<\/p>\n

Filmed along the back roads of Mexico, Circo<\/em> is an intimate portrait of a family trying to stay together despite mounting debt, dwindling audiences, and simmering conflict. With a marriage in trouble and a century-old tradition hanging in the balance, the Ponce family circus struggles to make a living off its artistry, sweat, and wit.<\/p>\n

\n

The Filmmaker<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aaron Schock<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aaron Schock holds a MA in government from Columbia University and worked for several years in non-profit community development in New York City before moving into filmmaking. His first film, Song of Roosevelt Ave.<\/em> (2005), an award-winning documentary short about undocumented immigrants in Queens, has played in over a dozen film festivals around the world. Circo, his first feature, screened in more than 40 film festivals around the world, and was released theatrically in the US, Canada, and the UK in 2011.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Living and performing on the road since the 19th century, the hardscrabble Ponce family circus struggles to preserve their art and way of life against the backdrop of Mexico’s collapsing rural economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":10000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"topic":[1216],"class_list":["post-253","films","type-films","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-arts-and-culture"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCirco | Mexican Family Circus | Independent Lens | PBS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Circo follows the century-old Ponce family circus as it struggles to survive dwindling audiences, marital conflict, and Mexico's collapsing rural economy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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