About Us – Cirko de Mente

CIRKO DE MENTE A.C. is a Mexican company, a pioneer of contemporary circus in Mexico and an artistic, cultural, and educational project that promotes and works on the creation, training, and outreach of Circus Arts. Founded in 2003 by Andrea Peláez and Leonardo Costantini, with over 20 years of experience — between carnival fires and showers of stars — it has traveled through jungles, ice, deserts, forests, and mountains, presenting its shows at various prestigious venues such as TOHU, Cité des Arts du Cirque, Montreal, Canada; the Kennedy Center of Arts, Washington, Texas, United States; Théâtre Toursky, Marseille, France; Fitdanz Iquique, Chile; Igloolik, Iqaluit and Kuyuak in the Canadian Far North; and at circus conventions in Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Spain, among others. …Did we mention we fly?!

Who We Are

We are a Mexican contemporary circus company that, since late 2003 — between carnival fires and showers of stars — has traveled through jungles, ice, deserts, forests, and mountains, presenting its shows at various prestigious venues such as TOHU, Cité des Arts du Cirque, Montreal, Canada; the Kennedy Center of Arts, Washington, Texas, United States; Théâtre Toursky, Marseille, France; Fitdanz Iquique, Chile; Igloolik, Iqaluit and Kuyuak in the Canadian Far North; as well as at circus festivals and conventions in Argentina, Germany, Brazil, Bolivia, Spain, Italy, and Mauritius, among others.

In Mexico, we have had the honor of presenting our shows at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, the Teatro de la Ciudad “Esperanza Iris,” the Teatro de las Artes at the Centro Nacional de las Artes, Sala Miguel Covarrubias and Foro Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz at the Centro Cultural Universitario UNAM, the Zócalo of Mexico City, the Museo Nacional de Arte, the Vive Latino Festival’s Foro Sol, the Teatro de la Danza INBA, the Guadalajara, Morelia, and Guanajuato International Film Festivals, and the Circo Atayde Hermanos, to name a few — and of course at our own venue, the Karpa De Mente, a performance space specializing in circus located in the south of Mexico City, which since 2006 has opened its doors to artists from across the country and serves as a bridge to the world for contemporary circus arts in Mexico. In 2017, it inaugurated the Nautilus mobile library specializing in circus and the Dokucirco Circus Documentation Center.

Additionally, it has created and implemented, in collaboration with the Ollin Yoliztli Cultural Center of the Mexico City Government, the Bachelor’s Degree program in Contemporary Circus Arts. From 2018 to 2025 it was implemented jointly, and starting with the 2025-2026 school year it has been fully incorporated into the Mexico City Ministry of Culture. This gave rise to the creation of the Mexico City School of Circus Arts, a public and free professional education offering — the first of its kind nationwide.

It has also promoted, collaborated on, and participated in organizing and carrying out circus festivals, gatherings, and conventions in Mexico. Cirko De Mente is also a founding member of the Mexican Circus Federation, a national organization registered and presented to the media and the general public in January 2026, which brings together traditional, contemporary, social, and sporting circus sectors, as well as researchers, riggers, costume designers, and photographers, among other agents who are part of the national circus universe.

In this way, Cirko De Mente has worked committedly since its inception on the creation, training, documentation, and promotion of circus culture in Mexico. And the adventures continue!

Andrea Peláez

Graduate in Choreography from the National School of Classical and Contemporary Dance. She has performed at the most important national venues and directed openings and productions of prestigious Film and Performing Arts Festivals. Her most recent creation, Luna Eva, was presented at the Palacio de Bellas Artes as part of the venue's 90th Anniversary and the 21-year trajectory of the Cirko De Mente company, of which she is founder and co-director. She has been a beneficiary of FONCA in the programs México en Escena, Circus Arts Performer, and Career Stage Creators, as well as the CONACULTA/CENART Art Education scholarship and the EFIDANZA 2018 support. She is currently Director of the Mexico City School of Circus Arts.

Leonardo Costantini

Professional juggler since 2000. He has participated in international juggling and circus conventions, festivals, and gatherings in Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, France, Spain, and Greece. He has taken courses at the Escuela de Circo Criollo and La Arena (Argentina), as well as at Central Do Circo and Fundición Progreso in Brazil. He completed a training residency at Caramba Escuela de Circo in Madrid, Spain. He has taken multiple dance and theater performance courses.
With the Cirko de Mente company, he has created the repertoire shows "Regresa a mis pies" and "Todos somos Roger," with which they have participated in various national and international festivals and venues (Théâtre Toursky Marseille, France; Festival Fitndaz, Chile; and the Kennedy Center for the Arts in Washington DC). He is currently Technical Director of the Company and head of the Karpa De Mente performance venue. "Volver" (2014), his most recent creation, in which he participated as director and actor. He has been a teacher at CUT (Centro Universitario de Teatro) and at Casa del Teatro.

Mission

Cirko De Mente’s mission is to foster the development of projects that promote Circus and Performing Arts in the areas of training, creation, dissemination, and documentation, broadening the scope of action in different areas of collective wellbeing and social participation.

The company’s goal is to ensure that its educational offerings, creations, productions, methodologies, and research reflect our reality, fostering diversity and opening space for feedback with other realities like communicating vessels.

Historical Repertoire

Simetria

De Voz Ke

Estudio sobre la pasión según San Mateo

En busca del cirko perdido

Luna Eva

La primera luz

Press

"Beautiful. A universe unto itself. A generational microcosm where circus performers, tightrope walkers, puppeteers, jaraneros, writers, rockers, DJs, film club members, and dancers from different self-managed collectives come together."

By Pacho / El Reforma 2004 / Leer artículo

"Cirko de Mente persists in an aesthetic far removed from paraphernalia"

Jornada / Leer artículo

"Cirko De Mente performs at the CCU, Luna Eva reclaims circus as an avant-garde performing art."

José Juan Reyes / Cultura UNAM / Leer artículo

"Cirko De Mente brings circus arts to the Palacio de Bellas Artes for the first time: "It's like tearing down a wall""

Armando Mora / El País