The Torres Family

The Torres Family
Motorcycle Mania

While the eight members of the Torres Family, five brothers and three cousins, were growing up (most of them in Caaguaz, Paraguay), they were big fans of the many circuses that traveled throughout South America. The fact that none of their parents had a circus background was no deterrent to their collective wish to perform, and they found a means to do it – on motorcycles inside a 16-foot steel sphere at The Greatest Show On Earth^®!

All began participating as youngsters in the sport of motocross – “a very popular pastime for kids in Paraguay.” Eventually, each raced professionally on the many circuits that thrive in Latin America, and it was while visiting Argentina that they got their first glimpse of the imposing apparatus that would change their lives. A fellow motocross competitor and friend also happened to perform for a local circus. His act involved racing his motorcycle around and around inside an enormous steel globe in concert with several other riders. The Torres family was hooked immediately. “It was a lot like being on a motocross course condensed into a 16-foot, cylindrical space,” explains troupe leader Ariel Torres. It took about a year for the Torres family to get the basics down, but they were soon so accomplished at their daring feats that they were asked to perform with such renowned Latin circuses as Circo Nacional de España, Circo Hermanos Muños, Circo del Sol and Circo Tejedos. The troupe has also appeared on popular television shows in both Argentina and their native Paraguay. Over the 12 years during which a changing roster of family members has performed their death-defying act, the speeds at which they travel inside the globe and the number of motorcycles that speed around inside the globe have increased steadily.

As part of the 133rd Edition of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey^®, the Torres troupe thrilled audiences with a then record-shattering six motorcycles inside the globe. Now, in the 138th Edition, the Torres family goes for seven motorcycles in a seemingly impossible-sized space that is noisier, more claustrophobic and infinitely more challenging than anything they have attempted before.

The Torres family describes their technique inside the globe as “very much like what pilots do in an air show.” Blowing a whistle and revving their engines as prompts to one another, each rider embarks upon a set pattern, or path of trajectory, around the interior surface of the globe. Once the riders are in motion, maintaining constant speeds (which can reach up to 65 miles per hour) is critical. Still, when they are inside the globe they are “completely focused on where everyone else is” and are making constant, minute adjustments. Interestingly enough, they all admit to being nervous for the riders already in the globe when they are the ones waiting to enter, but add that – once they are inside themselves – their jitters disappear and they look forward to the reaction that their heart-stopping performance receives from the audience. “That is what really drives us,” they affirm.

Inside the globe, the rocketing riders are often less than four inches apart, and they remain a tight knit group outside the globe as well. Ranging in age from 23 to 33, they do almost everything together, including playing soccer in their free time when – they observe – they are only a few members short of fielding an entire team. Given the perilous nature and precision timing required of their job, they claim, “Each time we enter the globe, our family bond grows stronger!”