Mark Gebel, born 24 years ago during a stop in Houston, picked up on the family business at an early age. Now he's doing just what his father did, leading equally ferocious beasts. (His sister, Tina Gebel-DelMoral, trains and rides liberty horses, as her mother did.)
Also following in the family biz is clown David Larible, a seventh- generation circus performer. (You think your family is a bunch of clowns?) When Larible was 8 and he expressed his wish to become a clown, his father (a trapeze artist) promptly made sure he got a good education in non-circus subjects. That's why Larible speaks five languages and plays seven musical instruments. His sister Vivien is also in the troupe, on the trapeze.
Yet another Ringling family unit is the Espana brothers, Ivan and Noe, who do all kinds of wild stunts. Joining them in "The Globe of Death," in which they ride motorcycles inside a sphere, are Ivan's sister-in-law, Dessi Kehaiova and her teenage sister Geri, who also does a solo act on a cycle.
Must be a circus saying that the family that defies death together, stays together.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Baily Circus, at the Spectrum from next Wednesday through June 11. Show times vary. Tickets: $8.50, $13.50 and $15.50. Phone: 215-336-2000.
JUNIOR JAM. While the grown-ups take in the Cajun party at Penn's Landing that is the Jambalaya Jam, there's plenty for younger party types to do. And it's only a buck a kid.
