The Family That Flies Together . . .

The Vargas kids didn’t have to run away to join the circus--they were born there.

Mother rode horses and was an acrobat; father was a flier, an animal trainer, a clown and teeterboard artist. Their family troupe traveled a circuit of towns small and large in Mexico, so it’s little surprise that their 10 children learned a few tricks of their own.

They became, in the process, the fourth generation of circus Vargases. Some joined the act before their ages hit double digits, performing in everything from acrobatics to animal acts.

But it was on the trapeze that the name Vargas was made, at least north of the border.

The Flying Vargas are in their eighth season with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, now on its annual swing through Southern California. In a show that is heavy on high-decibel production numbers, the Vargas family (and, performing simultaneously in another ring, the Flying Tabares), provide some old-fashioned circus craft and showmanship.

Alejandro Vargas, 34, is the leader of the troupe. His role may be the least flashy, but in many ways it’s the most important: He’s the catcher. (This prompts what must be a well-worn joke from ringmaster Dinny McGuire, who pops by during an interview: “Hey, did Alejandro tell you his favorite song? ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.’ ”)

Brother Bruno Vargas, 26, was the sixth man ever to perform a quadruple somersault, although since he underwent shoulder surgery, the difficult trick has been dropped from his repertory.

“I started when I was 11 years old,” Bruno says. He learned several different acts as a youngster but showed a growing skill for the trapeze: “If you get good at it, you stay with it.”

Their sister Maricela Vargas Leiner, 35, was a late bloomer when it came to flying. “I worked with elephants,” she says. “I was 19 when I started with the trapeze.” That doesn’t seem to have hurt her, as she is one of the few women to perfect the triple somersault and perform it on a regular basis. Dueling triples (with the Flying Tabares) are part of the current program, which changes every year for the Vargases.

Rounding out the troupe is Miguel Trejo Vargas, just 17 and a nephew of the other three performers, making him a fifth-generation Vargas performer. Even though he grew up around the circus--starting as a performer at “7 or 8”--he didn’t always see it as a potential living.

“I didn’t plan anything like this,” he says. “It started as a game for me. As I did bigger and harder tricks, then it became like a career.”

Miguel is on the verge of perfecting the quadruple (he did his first triple at 8), and if he gets it down, he will reportedly be the youngest ever to execute it. “He needs to get a little bigger, a little stronger,” Bruno Vargas says.

To perform a triple, a flier spins at about 60 mph. For a quadruple, that increases to about 80 mph. Learning a new trick is typically a many-step process for trapeze acts: Fliers first practice with a safety belt called a mechanic; when they feel comfortable, they remove the belt and do the trick “to the net.” Finally, after weeks or even months, they try the new move to the hands of the catcher.

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It is there that the trust must lie, and members of the Flying Vargas say that is only enhanced by the family connections. “They’re my brothers, so I take care of them,” Alejandro says. “It’s much better when you have family. You trust each other.”

“You start with one trick, then when you get that down you try something new,” Miguel says. Practice must come on top of what is already a grueling 11-month performing schedule; the troupe rehearses for about 1 1/2 hours after each show.

Although the family performs with a net, a muffed landing can still be crippling. More insistent, however, is the threat of more mundane injuries, particularly to the hands and shoulders. Even during their yearly time off from performing, they must keep a regular practice schedule, Bruno says: “We already have calluses, and we don’t want those to go away.”

The four performing members of the Vargas clan are not the only ones who travel with the circus. The parents of Bruno, Alejandro and Maricela come along and help with the act; other siblings help with costumes and other tasks. Alejandro’s daughter Alex performs in a production number, and his younger son Ivan has been flying on the trapeze since age 2.

The circus instinct in the Vargas family, evidently, runs deep--and long. In Mexico, a grandfather still travels with a circus. He’s 96. “He doesn’t want to leave,” Bruno says.

* The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is scheduled for the Long Beach Arena Wednesday through Sunday. Upcoming dates include the L.A. Sports Arena, July 24-30, and the Pond of Anaheim, Aug. 1-11. Tickets are $10.50-$25 ($11-$27.50 in Anaheim). Call (213) 480-3232 or (714) 740-2000.