Vargas’ Love for Big Top Salvaged Circus 20 Years Ago

Clifford E. Vargas could not bear to see a good circus run into the ground. He hated the idea so much that he sold his house to buy a circus’ big top, equipment and trucks.

That was two decades ago. Today, Circus Vargas, with its three rings of lions, tigers, horses, elephants, clowns and death-defying aerialists, lays claim to being the world’s largest traveling big top circus. Today’s 8 p.m. performance in Balboa Park will kick off the circus’ 20th anniversary tour.

In honor of the occasion, there are 400 new costumes for men and beasts, new acts on the trapeze and high wire, new dog and chimpanzee acts and--premiering sometime during the five-location, 18-day San Diego County run--the world’s smallest man, a 20-inch midget.

Since becoming president and owner of a business in a field that traces its origins back 2,000 years to Rome, Vargas has done just about everything connected with the circus, from raising the canvas and putting up the rows and rows of bleachers, to hammering stakes, driving the big-rig trucks and hawking tickets.

A grinding schedule--the big tent will be moved as often as three times a week over the next 11 months--leaves Vargas little time to reflect on his life in the circus. Vargas, who appears about 50, refuses to tell his age. It’s bad luck, according to circus lore, to reveal your age.

But he found time for a 20-minute phone conversation and spoke about his childhood infatuation with circuses, recalled how the circus has changed since 1969 and even voiced second thoughts about selling his San Francisco home to buy the big top.

“It’s been a tough run,” Vargas said. “You have to learn so much. It’s unbelievable. Sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing. I understand the property now is worth a fabulous amount. But I wanted to have the circus in the tent. That’s how I remembered it when I was a kid.”

Vargas bought his circus at a time when the largest circuses, suffering from inflation and increased costs, had begun to give up the big top, performing in permanent sports arenas instead. Today, Circus Vargas employs about 150 people and has 250 animals. The big top will seat 5,000, he said, adding that the circus will give 600 performances this year.

When Vargas bought the circus, he had already established himself as a promoter for circuses and was working for the Miller Johnson Circus. But the owner, rather than plow money back into the circus, was letting the operation go to seed, Vargas said.

“The last guy I worked for, I hadn’t realized that he wanted to take all the money we made and put it in his pocket and forget it,” Vargas said. “The circus would come to town, and it would be embarrassing. It couldn’t pass the electrical code. The people would say you can’t stay open.”

Vargas told the man he couldn’t go on that way and offered to buy the circus. The man accepted his offer the next day.

There were no animals in the circus he bought, and Vargas purchased some elephants and horses for starters.

“Elephants were cheap,” he says. “You can’t even get them anymore. They’re a dying breed in this country.”

People, though easier to come by, are often hard to keep, he says. The glamour of the circus has a strong attraction but it soon wears off.

Vargas does less of the physical work now, although he planned to drive one of the big rigs to San Diego because of a staff vacancy.

“It’s a crazy business, to be very frank about it,” he said. “Every state requires licenses and a permit. Every county has another health department, police and fire departments. The list goes on.”

The circus still draws the public like a magnet, Vargas maintains, in spite of intense competition from television, videocassettes, movies, records and concerts.

“People are going back to the circus,” he said. “We’re the only form of entertainment that’s never been censored. We’re considered the family outing.”

Running a circus is still a crapshoot, though. Vargas doesn’t always make a profit. The secret is “getting a lot of bodies” under that big top. And that’s how Vargas spends most of his time: on advertising, promotion and distributing performance discount coupons.

What is the worst part of being in the circus?

“The traveling,” he says with no hesitation. “Three days in one place, four days in another, two, three days somewhere else--and the long hours.

What does Vargas like best about the circus?

“Opening night, when the tent is full of people and the animals come in the tent and there’s clapping and waving. That’s the best part to me.”

Circus Vargas will perform in five cities in San Diego County, today through Monday in Balboa Park, Tuesday through Thursday at Grossmont Community College in El Cajon, Jan. 20-22 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, Jan. 23-26 at the Escondido Village Mall and Jan. 27-30 at Southwestern College in Chula Vista.