Why Varekai?

First time in Manila

Last Saturday, July 9, was Varekai day. This was such an anticipated event for us because this is the first time the world famous Cirque du Soleil is in Manila. I have wanted to watch them when Ramir and I were in New York but schedule and budget didn't permit us. When I learned about Varekai's Manila-run, I wasted no time. 3 tickets for Ramir, R and me. We're all set. But I guess Murphy has other plans for us. You see Murphy made a law which stated that everything that can go wrong will go wrong. And he, I'm assuming a male here, was absolutely right.



We figured into a string of unfortunate events. For the first salvo, it was raining like there was no tomorrow. That was the first hurdle. Since we live in Malabon, non-stop rain is always an event. The second came in immediately - one of our car's front tire was flat, which means we need take a cab going to Quirino Grandstand where Varekai is staged. We took a tricycle to Malabon Citisquare. We waited for cab in the middle of the pouring rain. We were able to get a cab in about ten minutes, which I think was fast, especially given the fact that it was almost zero visibility. After 10 minutes, our next challenge came. Traffic. We're sandwiched between trailers going to port area and nothing is moving.

The cab driver had a great idea - LRT. We turned back and headed to Fifth Avenue Station. It was 20 minutes before showtime when the LRT carriage arrived. We were like doing the final episode of Amazing Race, only we have a child in tow and we're competing against time.

When we were at the Grand Chapiteau (Cirque's Tent), I think 10 minutes after it had started. It was quite anti-climactic that we need to go the restroom before we go in, but we don't have a choice. All of us were really "holding it in." I was a little frustrated that after all we went through we still didn't make it on time. But looking at the bright side of things, it made me realize that it was a good thing that the car's tire was flat, if not, with the traffic, we wouldn't have made it at all. The LRT decision was awarded Best Decision of the Day, kudos to manong taxi driver. Because we were late, and there vacant seats in center front, we were seated near the stage - 10th row in the middle, which was one of the best seats in the house. Not too near but quite near.

You can say, we got more than what we paid for. It also made me appreciate my lot - Ramir and R. Thank goodness they're cowboys. I was impressed by their tenacity. They did not, at any given time, complain nor lost their cool nor went into a don't-want-to-watch-anymore fits.

So did Varekai lived up to the hype? Sadly, with what we've seen, I don't think this is Cirque's best work. I haven't seen any other Cirque performance but I've seen a better circus.  So what do you need to watch out for? These are on my list - stage design, lighting, theatrics and costumes. For me, it lacks the never-before-seen, takes-my-breath-away acts. They also take so much time to deliver the "bomb". Although, I must point out that the finale, with the swings, death defying jumps, twirls and tosses, gave us a good reason why we were there. The comedic portions of the show gave R laughing episodes, which was also a plus, even if she seconded our opinion that the other circus had better stunts.

All in all, Varekai was a good experience. It's really a visual and artistic take of what we've come to know as the circus.  We can now officially say that yeah, we've seen the famous Cirque.