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"Andy Martello is a performing artist who happens to be a fine juggler."
Scott Brown
Marengo Star Newspaper
Acts - Dazzling Diabolo
People love this act especially because the Diabolo is an odd looking version of the yo-yo. Andy performs many eye-catching tricks with this prop. He is also known for performing the difficult 2 diabolos on one string, and the fire-diabolo (You know, there are only 3 people in the country that perform these tricks. I've been told 2 of those people do them very well!). (Watch the Video)
Diabolo |
UPDATE! On this site I once asked if anyone knew why this Chinese toy had a Spanish name. Well, my fans came through with the goods!
| Chuck Kramer of Jersey City, NJ was the first of many to send me this
info..."The name Diabolo originates from the Greek words "dia" meaning
"through" and "vallo" meaning "throw." It is not to be confused with the
Spanish word Diablo, meaning devil." He also added that there was a
surge of popularity for the Diabolo in France "prior to the advent of
team sports, i.e. soccer." and that there is a popular drink in France
called the Diabolo Menthe. |
| Fellow performer Geoffrey Way added a few nice tidbits to
the mix, including, "The European explorers brought the toy back with
them, but they didn't bring the true names, since they weren't very good at learning Chinese.
So they came up with Diabolo." Geoffrey even led me to the REAL NAME of
the Diabolo! "In some areas, the Chinese use the name "Fong Lai" which
means "thunder wind", and others use "Gong Ju" which means "ringing
bell". Both refer to the noise made by the original resonant form (of the
diabolo) with tuned cavities that whistle as the unit spins. Being a
feudal region at times, dialects vary and there is also the issue of
Mandarin vs. Cantonese. There are likely to be other names for it found
in the Chinese language as well." Fascinating stuff! |
| Perhaps my favorite answer comes from another performer in the U.K.
Christopher Ehrenzeller writes, "Why does the Chinese diabolo has a Spanish name? Obviously 'coz it's "Devilishly"
difficult!!!" |
MANY THANKS to my Diabolo Enthusiasts and historians out there for
helping solve a mystery!
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