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Juan Vazquez has spent his life at dizzying heights. A trapeze
flier, he is the best catcher in the history of the circus. This he proved by catching his younger brother Miguel's first
quadruple somersault on videotape and 2,630 others during performances. The Flying Vazquez, as the family act would billed, astounded the circus world when they caught the world's first quadruple somersault to the hands of the catcher. Circus impresarios, managers, historians and many of the top fliers had long called the quad impossible. They disproved that during practice after the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s Circus evening show at the Long Beach, California, Arena, on August 19, 1981. The time was 11:30 p.m. Miguel, then just 16 years old, flew out and back, turned four smooth spins, and Juan locked wrists with him and held on. Only a few wildly cheering family members and other circus performers were witnesses to that historic first catch. The circus world was astounded. Miguel and Juan Vazquez had proved the impossible was possible. Writer Harry Graham published the story in The Orange County (California) Register, and in Circus Report magazine. And promoter Eddie Howe published it in Amusement Business. The Vazquez brothers grew up on circuses in Europe and the US. They are fifth generation circus performers on both their father’s and mother’s sides of the family.The first circus audiences to see The Biggest Trick as the quadruple somersault is called, was in Tucson, Arizona, on the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The feat came during the evening performance on July 10, 1982. The pictures were flashed around the world. The news and the pictures were published in the New York Times, Time Magazine, The Chicago Tribune and other papers great and small. The path to greatness wasn't easy. It came after years of hard work on circuses far and wide. Miguel and Juan and their brothers Felipe and Vinicio formed the flying act in 1976. Five years later they nailed the world's first quad. When Miguel retired at age 35, he had connected with his brother Juan on 2,630 of the magnificent tricks. The Guinness Book of World Records listed Miguel’s quad, full-twisting triple, and triple layout as being the world’s first. After leaving the Ringling show in 1989, the Vazquez flew on circus Knie in Switzerland, Circus Krone in Germany, The Big Apple Circus in America, Tivoli in Denmark, Linnanmaki in Finland, ATA Wiener Stadthalle in Austria, Carre in Amsterdam, Splendid China National Circus in Puerto Rico and Circus Circus in Reno and Las Vegas. Another of their great achievements was catching the quad and winning the Gold Clown at the Monte Carlo Festival in 1990. In 2008, Miguel was invited to be a judge at the 32nd Monte Carlo Festival where other fliers are still attempting to catch the quad 18 years afterward. Other fliers have caught the quad. But Juan hastens to point out that “we always flew with authentic measurements on the flying trapeze. We never dropped our catch bar lower or made our measurements longer on the fly bar. That's what really set Miguel apart from anyone else.” Other tricks Miguel Vázquez has conquered include 12 of trapeze flying’s greatest tricks, all of which he first caught as a teenager: The Full-twisting double somersault; The double cutaway; The double cutaway and a half twist; The triple somersault; The double-twisting double somersault; The triple twisting double somersault; The two and a half pirouette return; The first full-twisting triple somersault; The triple-twisting double somersault; The first-triple layout
somersault;
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