An ancient Maya myth finds new life in a Mexican circus company’s performance

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican artistic director Jorge Díaz used to have a unique selection of bedtime stories for his son.

Setting aside well-known books like “Pinocchio,” they read tales closer to home. Among their favorites was the Popol Vuh, a compendium of sacred Maya myths.

“Recalling those stories is important,” said Díaz, whose grandmother told him legends from her Indigenous lineage as a child. “We have plenty of beautiful, pre-Hispanic tales. But we sometimes forget.”

The one he enjoyed with his son recounts the story of hero twins Ixbalanqué and Hunahpú.

In the Popol Vuh, the brothers embark on a perilous journey to the Maya underworld. There, they outwit death, confront its lords and ultimately rise transformed.

The myth inspired Díaz’s adaptation, “Mortal Leap into Xib’alb’a.” Blending circus arts with theater, the piece employs acrobatics and ritual to reimagine the ancestral story on stage.

“We sought to give the piece its own identity through circus, but I didn’t want the work to rely only on tricks or spectacle,” Díaz said. “The idea was for the techniques to blend with the story and the characters, creating atmospheres rather than just showcasing skills.”

The show has returned to the stage periodically since its debut in 2023. New performances were held in Mexico City in late November.

The troupe behind “Mortal Leap into Xib’alb’a” was founded 20 years ago by Díaz and fellow artist Jessica González. Initially a theater company, “Tránsito Cinco” evolved into a group devoted to circus arts.

“Fresh out of university, we searched for tools that would allow us to grow as actors,” said González, who also performs as a narrator in the Maya myth piece. “We wanted to find something that could connect theater with dance and the circus became a meeting place.”

Their current repertoire includes 16 productions. There’s not a shared theme among them. Yet Díaz and González aim to create pieces with a clear narrative thread.

“Our shows are built around a theme or storyline,” she said. “We believe that circus arts can also be a way to say something, whether it’s about social issues or any other subject.”

How they work hand in hand with artists is reflected in “Somnia,” a documentary about Tránsito Cinco’s history and vision.

“This is one of the most influential art forms I’ve ever witnessed,” said director Arely Cantellano during a recent showing of her film. “It opens those doors to many different arts and invites us all to take part.”

Aside from adapting the Maya myth and directing fellow artists, one of Díaz’s jobs in “Mortal Leap into Xib’alb’a” is rigging work. That is, as Yareli Reyes performs while being suspended from a rig by her hair, Díaz oversees her safety

Her performance is close to Díaz’s heart. She plays one of the Maya twins, a role the director once envisioned for himself.

His brother — also an actor — plays the main character in the Maya-inspired piece and Díaz dreamed of performing alongside him. “I love that fragment of the Popol Vuh,” he said. “It felt important to me to create it onstage together.”

He let go of the role so he could avoid overloading himself. But watching his beloved sacred story from a distance provides him with a fresh understanding of his art.

“Circus has the power to astonish and play with risk,” he said. “When I’m holding the performer who does hair suspension, there are moments when I see the light, the atmosphere, and it feels like a ritual.”

Several scenes feel full of energy to him. The way the music, the light and the artists’ bodies fuse into stagecraft creates an immersive environment for audiences, he said.

“It’s fantastic,” said marketing strategist Alba Vida about Tránsito Circo’s work after the recent showcase of their documentary. “I love circus arts because, within them, the frontier with entertainment shifts.”

Díaz’s son is now 14. However, the work inspired by their nights delving into the Maya underworld is still aimed at children and families.

For an hour, “Mortal Leap into Xib’alb’a” depicts the twins’ journey between the living realm and the underworld. The performance kicks off, portraying how the brothers are born after their mother becomes pregnant when the skull of their father spits into her hand, a symbolic transfer of life.

The twins are raised among humans. Yet as they learn to play a pre-Hispanic ritual sport that infuriated the Xib’alb’a lords, several fights take place and the pair eventually perishes — only to return transformed in the myth’s final cycle.

“Under the Mayan worldview, death is not an ending, but a chance to be reborn,” Díaz said. “So even as they throw themselves into the fire as a sacrifice, they become the Sun and Moon.”

Conveying how the ancient Maya perceive death as a possibility to reinvent oneself is as important to Díaz as taking care of every detail in his colleagues’ risky, brilliant acts.

“There are many elements from pre-Hispanic Indigenous traditions that can be brought into circus performance,” he said. “Ways to use them, reinterpret them and give them new meaning onstage.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Acrobats from a Mexican theater company perform the show titled "Mortal Leap into Xibalba," which reinterprets a myth from a sacred Mayan book about creation and the journey to the underworld, in Mexico City, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Acrobats from a Mexican theater company perform the show titled "Mortal Leap into Xibalba," which reinterprets a myth from a sacred Mayan book about creation and the journey to the underworld, in Mexico City, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Acrobats from a Mexican theater company perform the show titled "Mortal Leap into Xibalba," which reinterprets a myth from a sacred Mayan book about creation and the journey to the underworld, in Mexico City, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

An acrobat from a Mexican theater company performs the show titled "Mortal Leap into Xibalba," which reinterprets a myth from a sacred Mayan book about creation and the journey to the underworld, in Mexico City, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

Acrobats from a Mexican theater company perform the show titled "Mortal Leap into Xibalba," which reinterprets a myth from a sacred Mayan book about creation and the journey to the underworld, in Mexico City, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

The risk of a catastrophic explosion at a damaged chemical tank in Southern California has been eliminated following a close overnight inspection that confirmed a crack in the tank relieved pressure and cooled the chemical, authorities said Monday.

Officials said crews conducted tank temperature checks at night to reduce risks to firefighters, avoiding daytime operations when heat from the tank made conditions around it most dangerous. The overnight mission allowed crews to verify the crack and confirm temperatures were falling, Orange County Fire Authority division chief Craig Covey said Monday morning.

Covey said the results of overnight evaluation of the tank — that the temperature inside had dropped and that pressure had been released — was “incredibly positive news.”

However, evacuation orders remained in place for about 50,000 people in Garden Grove, California, located south of Los Angeles.

Covey said falling temperatures and the release of pressure from the tank were allowing officials to “turn the corner on this incident” after days of concern about a possible explosion.

There has been no chemical leak as of early Monday, but the Orange County Fire Authority said the risk to public safety is “ongoing.”'

After the tank overheated Thursday and began venting vapors, firefighters have repeatedly sprayed the tank with water in an attempt to cool the chemical inside, methyl methacrylate, which is used to make plastic parts.

The tank's interior reached 100 degrees (37.7 Celsius) Sunday, an increase of 10 degrees Fahrenheit (5.5 Celsius) since Saturday, according to Democratic state Sen. Tom Umberg. On Monday, Covey said the temperature fell to 93 degrees F (33.9 degrees C).

Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency Saturday and said he asked President Donald Trump to issue an emergency declaration to bolster federal support for local and state officials.

The tank at GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, which makes parts for commercial and military aircraft, holds 6,000 to 7,000 gallons (22,700 to 26,500 liters) of methyl methacrylate used to make plastic parts.

The first goal of firefighters was to cool off the chemical inside the tank to prevent a leak or explosion.

Drones were monitoring temperatures at 10-minute intervals to watch for any spikes. Containment barriers were set up to prevent the chemical from getting into storm drains or reaching creeks or the nearby ocean in the event of a spill, Covey said earlier.

As the interior temperature rises, methyl methacrylate converts from a liquid to a gas and increases the pressure, according to Purdue University engineering professor Andrew Whelton, who had said earlier that the crack could mean product or pressure is being released, reducing the chance of explosion.

“Think of a soda can. If you leave it in a hot car it can explode,” Whelton said. “But if you put a hole in the can, the product is released and the can itself doesn’t explode.”

An explosion that could spread the chemical over a broad area and send shrapnel flying would be the worst-case scenario, he said.

Aerial photos taken by The Associated Press showed streets in the area were empty Sunday, while several evacuation shelters were open. At a high school in neighboring La Palma, people slept in cars or on mats and sleeping bags on the asphalt.

Garden Grove is next to Anaheim, home to Disneyland’s two theme parks, which were not under evacuation orders. Park officials said they were monitoring the situation.

Exposure to methyl methacrylate can cause serious respiratory problems, neurological problems and irritation to the skin, eyes and throat, according to fact sheets about the chemical.

Whelton said if an explosion occurs, it will be crucial to conduct detailed air monitoring specifically for methyl methacrylate and not just generic tests for volatile organic compounds as officials did after a 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which released more than 115,000 gallons (435,000 liters) of vinyl chloride after officials blew open five tank cars and burned the chemical.

Orange County health officials said the chemical is easy to smell and people may notice it over a large area without being harmed.

Some Garden Grove residents filed a class-action federal lawsuit Saturday against GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, which operates the facility where the tank is located. Lawyers for the residents argued that regardless of what happens, property values in the surrounding community are sure to be impacted.

GKN Aerospace did not comment on the lawsuit but has apologized to residents and businesses forced to evacuate. It said Sunday it was “working around the clock to mitigate the risk of a leak.”

GKN Aerospace agreed in 2025 to pay state regulators more than $900,000 to settle violations involving recordkeeping, permitting issues and nitrogen oxide emissions, according to a report on the South Coast Air Quality Management District website.

Associated Press journalist Ethan Swope in Garden Grove, California, contributed to this report.

An evacuation map is displayed at the incident command post at the Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Water is sprayed on a damaged tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after the tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

The streets remain empty in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after a storage tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday at an aerospace plastics facility. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Emergency personnel work at the incident command post at the Los Alamitos Race Course Sunday, May 24, 2026, in Cypress, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Water is sprayed on a damaged tank at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sunday, May 24, 2026, after the tank containing a chemical used to make plastic parts overheated Thursday. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)