Luzia - A Waking Dream of Mexico is the thirty-eighth show from
Cirque du Soleil. It premiered in 2016 and is currently touring North America.
As the title implies, it's inspired by
Mexico's culture and history, but with Cirque's typically strange take on everything.
This show provides examples of:
- All There in the Manual: While it won't help with the plot (there isn't one, even with the program), the program explains a lot of the connections and references. Unless you're really familiar with Mexican and Mesoamerican history and culture, it'll have something you missed.
- Bilingual Bonus: Not only are the songs in Spanish, but all of the commentary from ringmasters and presenters is in Mexican Spanish (specifically, Central Mexican), which provides additional humor and the occasional ad libbing.
- Body Horror: The contortionist's act, practically by definition. It makes sense, given that the act is based on sculptures inspired by a fever dream.
- Costume Porn: Cirque always has great costuming, but a special mention must be given to the Running Woman's wings in the beginning.
- Covers Always Lie: The man in a suit with a hummingbird head isn't actually in the show. There are plenty of people with animal heads, but he's not one of them.
- The Everyman: Starts the show by falling out of the sky and turning a key that apparently activates everything else. Provides occasional comedic relief afterwards.
- Excuse Plot: Like most Cirque shows. The everyman protagonist falls out of the sky, kicks things off by turning the key, and wanders through the show; that's the closest it really has to an actual plot.
- Genius Loci: The rain, implied to be intelligent or at least controlled by someone who is, is actively attempting to dodge the clown for most of the show. He's annoyed at this when he's trying to get some water to drink, but grateful at the end when he wants to walk through it without getting wet.
- Happy Rain: The clown has been desperately trying to get his hands on some water for a while, so when the rain finally stops dodging him and he gets rained on, he's thrilled.
- Masked Luchador: One does the canes act.
- Mayincatec: Sort of. The show pulls elements from a bunch of Mesoamerican cultures - Tlaloc was an Aztec rain god, while the scene with the man and the jaguar draws from the Mayan belief that cenotes were sacred portals - but it does generally distinguish between them in the program, and they did actually all live in what is now Mexico.
- Non-Ironic Clown: The protagonist.
- Pretty Butterflies: The Running Woman, one of the main characters and an Implied Love Interest for the protagonist, wears a dress obviously based on the monarch butterfly. The opening act takes it up a notch by giving her giant wings.
- Singing Simlish and Speaking Simlish: As is traditional. There's some Spanish in there too, though.
- Wind-Up Key: One for the entire show. The action kicks off when the protagonist turns it; it runs down at the end of the finale, and he winds it up again.
