A New Kind Of Nightlife With Cirque Du Soleil’s JOYÀ

Nestled just a few miles away from the party town of Playa Del Carmen is a new kind of nightlife. Close enough to feel its roar, but far enough to enter uncharted territory. Once the sun sets past the Riviera Maya horizon, the only Cirque du Soleil show in Mexico rises into itself. JOYÀ tells the tale of a mad scientist passing on his life lessons to his rambunctious granddaughter, complete with a dinner component, swashbuckling pirates, a brief Magic Mike-style tease, and no shortage of trapeze artists.

For one night, spectators revel in special performances preceded by 40 years of the acrobatic machine, Cirque du Soleil. And then, the lights go up. The guests go home. But the casts of Cirque du Soleil remain relentless in their acrobatic pursuits to captivate crowds nightly. Consider it Broadway taken to extremes, where the main cast members need to know how to act, entertain, and dance while simultaneously being suspended from the ceiling on a harness and doing other circus tricks.

For the two leads, this means knowledge of the stage. Roseli Arias, who plays teenage Joyà, had initially been a dancer in musicals like Cats and Saturday Night Fever. Zelig, the grandfather, is played by Joshean Mauleón, whose previous credits are in Spain as part of the National Classical Theater and various television projects.

Below, Roseli and Joshean discuss conquering the shows, their biggest fears, and their nightly acrobatics.