Cirque du Soleil – “Luzia”

Cirque du Soleil invites audiences to unlock the key in the cempasuchil flower field and explore a Latin dream world in the production, “Luzia.” The vibrant series of surrealistic human performances and acrobatics is inspired by director, Daniele Finzi Pasca’s 10 years living in Mexico, where the sun glows and the rain soothes.

“He felt that the country had marvels that people were unaware of,” said Francis Jalbert, Touring Publicist. “The show takes influences and themes linked to the Mexican identity and creates an imaginary world with it. It’s halfway between reality and dreams.”

The lavish two and a half hour show reveals the daily lives of the characters – some half human and half animal — in this fanciful world, where viewers can explore a cantina, the desert, and a festival.

The youthful Football Dance, performed by Laura Biondo and Abou Traore, takes the audience to a street corner in Mexico City, where friends try outmaneuvering one another with astonishing balancing tricks and flips with soccer balls.

“On stage, we’re allowed to bring out our own personalities,” said Biondo, who began playing soccer at 10-years-old. “Come open-minded, have fun, and enjoy.”

Biondo is a freestyle soccer player born in Venezuela, and is a five-time Guinness Book world recorder holder for the most amounts of tricks in one minute.

Evocative landscapes are produced under the big top, including dangling vines and a hidden pool beneath the stage, where an aerial strappist emerges as a demigod of rain. The omnipotent act set in the clear waters of a cenote, recalls the Mayan belief of the natural sinkholes being entries into the afterlife.

“It’s visually breathtaking,” said Jalbert. “We want you to have your own interpretations of what you’re seeing on stage and forget reality.”

One hundred and fifteen cast and crew members representing 24 countries have been traveling with “Luzia” since its premiere in 2016, and Boston is the 12^th stop on the tour. Attend “Luzia” at Suffolk Downs, 525 McClellan Highway, Revere, now through August 12.