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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

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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)



 

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Diabolo

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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.
Andy MartelloFellow 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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Andy Martello
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