First Recognition for Ibero-American Stage Management “Guillermo Heras”, within the framework of the Ibero-American Year of the Performing Arts.

Iván Corral receives recognition from Iberescena for his career in the circus

In October 2025, Iberescena presented its first “Guillermo Heras Ibero-American Performing Arts Management Recognition”, awarded to 19 key personalities in the performing arts of Ibero-America. Among them is Uruguayan Iván Corral , honored for his extensive career in the national circus. This award celebrates “the career of each cultural manager and their essential contribution to strengthening the Ibero-American Cultural Space,” thus highlighting the value of Corral's work in the development of the circus in Uruguay.

Career in the Uruguayan circus

Iván Corral Salomón (Montevideo) has been a leading figure in the Uruguayan circus scene for over a decade. He co-founded historic groups such as El Picadero, Circo Tranzat , and Circo Oriental del Uruguay , alliances that marked the rise of contemporary circus in the country. Trained as an acrobat and clown, he performed with numerous national companies between 2005 and 2014, including El Picadero, Fellinis, Grava, Viatoris, and Un Circo al Sol. Today, he is the executive producer of TreintaTreinta Producciones, in addition to managing collectives such as El Picadero and RACU (Uruguayan Circus Arts Network).

As artistic director, he spearheaded iconic shows: for example, the Circo Tranzat company premiered Yenn in 2016, a contemporary circus show that drew over 68,000 spectators, "the most-watched circus show in Uruguay" (circotranzat.com ). Corral's experience combines virtuoso circus acts with a strong theatrical imprint: in his own words, to "be competitive with a national, Uruguayan show" he had to "enhance the theatrical language in conjunction with the circus," and that's why "I began to prioritize the content, the concept, the overall picture, beyond the circus technique" (studocu.com ).

Consolidation of contemporary circus in Uruguay

The recognition of Corral comes at a time of maturity for Uruguayan circus. Since the late 2000s, pioneering groups like El Picadero have fought against prejudice to validate circus as a legitimate cultural expression. As Patricia Dalmás (co-founder of El Picadero) recalls, “From the beginning, we wanted circus to be validated as it is in the rest of the world… it was thanks to activism that we managed to place it in a position of recognition.” The International Circus Festival and the Uruguayan Juggling and Circus Convention were created as a result of this collective effort, and the official establishment of National Circus Day (October 6th) was even promoted. All these initiatives (along with formal schools and the Uruguayan Circus Arts Network, in which Corral participates as an active promoter) have woven the ecosystem of contemporary circus in the country. Together, these achievements have allowed circus to move beyond the margins and become integrated into the regional arts calendar, driven by self-managed collectives that advocate for circus as a living culture.

An award with regional reach

Iberescena honored Iván Corral as part of the Ibero-American Year of the Performing Arts, a cultural cooperation project promoted by SEGIB and Iberescena to showcase the best of the regional performing arts scene. As explained by the Iberescena Technical Secretariat, this recognition “aims to highlight the strategic role of the Performing Arts in building the Ibero-American Cultural Space, as well as to recognize those cultural managers who made the sector's development possible throughout the region.” Technical Secretary Zaida Rico emphasizes that the award recipients are those who, “with their commitment and sensitivity,” have built networks and paved the way for performing arts creation to “grow, strengthen, and remain vibrant” in our countries. In this sense, Corral perfectly embodies the profile that Iberescena celebrates: a circus arts manager whose “often quiet but profoundly transformative” efforts have enriched the local and Ibero-American artistic landscape.

The Iberescena award thus highlights the importance of circus arts within the region's cultural fabric. Uruguay is proud that a circus master is receiving this distinction, as it signifies recognizing circus arts as an art form with its own merit. The Ibero-American foundation's gesture establishes contemporary circus as an innovative discipline in the region and validates the path taken by Corral and his colleagues. In short, recognizing Iván Corral's work with the "Guillermo Heras" award is both a celebration of his career and a sign that Uruguayan circus arts now occupy a prominent place on the Ibero-American cultural map.