From Don Covington

circuba, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. Havana Circus Festival Begins Escrito por Ivan Noel Orta Martín Havana, (Prensa Latina) The eighth Circuba International Circus Festival 2009 will begin on Tuesday at the Trompoloco big top at La Isla del Coco amusement park in this capital, with performances by artists from seven countries. Rolando Rodriguez, president of the festival, said artists from Ghana, who are in the island for the first time, promise to perform attractive acts in their shows. Orchestras' live performances will be other of the novelties in the festival, as well as presentations by the Cuban National Circus corps de ballet, which toured the Cuban eastern region recently. He also announced spectacular acts that have been rescued and are incredibly attractive, as the flight of the trapeze artists, in the Korean style, with great technical complexity while in the air at an incredible height. The festival will grant awards in the Grand Prix, from first to third by categories, besides the popularity award, those of men and women performance and the special award, granted by the Mexican National Circus Association. Later, the Ecos del Circuba (Echoes of Circuba) galas will be held from August 18-23, when the audience will be able to enjoy award winning acts and those that were remarkable, together with some of the traditional performances and some with excellent skill display by the Cuban National Circus. All shows will be filmed to create a memory in DVD, together with a valuable archive material entitled Forty Years of Cuban Circus, which will be sold later.