Zamoratte

Contortionist

By Dominique Jando

Hugo Zamoratte was born in Tucuman, Argentina. He was working as an accountant at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Buenos Aires when, at the age of twenty, he decided to go to a gymnastic school to keep in shape. There he discovered his remarkable flexibility, and started working on it. He studied yoga for the next six year, and began to put together a contortion act.

He made his professional debut in 1973, in a circus in Lima, Peru, and then embarked on a career that led him to perform in circuses, nightclubs and variety shows all over South America. He was noticed there by Tito Gaona, who mention Zamoratte's extraordinary act to Paul Binder as a good possibility for the Big Apple Circus.

Zamoratte made his American debut in 1987, in the Big Apple Circus production of 1001 Arabian Nights, in which he impersonated Aladdin's Genie in the Bottle. He was an immediate success, and soon, he was sought over by major circuses, nightclubs and variety shows all over the US, Europe, Asia and Australia.

See Also

• Video: Zamoratte, Contortionist, in the Big Apple Circus production of 1001 Arabian Nights (1987)