MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — Germana Meluzzi is an eighth-generation circus performer who lives in Myakka City, and for her every day is different when you work in the circus.

What You Need To Know

  • Germana Meluzzi is an eighth-generation circus performer who says performing runs in her blood

  • Her mother, Silvana "Cha Cha" Meluzzi, was also a circus performer and made history 

  • Both she and her family have always felt that the circus is their home and they have always felt included in a diverse group of people

But she says she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I love the circus, because I love working with all the animals," she said. "They are my family, and we get to travel and meet different people."

Meluzzi has been in the circus since she was a kid. Performing runs in her blood.

She even earned national recognition, advancing to the quarterfinals of Americas Got Talent, and says her family is the first to train a llama to go through a hula-hoop.

While training these animals is a form of therapy for Meluzzi, she says it’s her fellow circus performers that truly became her second family.

"I think everyone should live their lives like circus families. We are all-inclusive, don’t judge. We don’t discriminate, we love everyone equally. Just like my animals, we are just all mixed up together,” she explained.

Her mother, Silvana "Cha Cha" Meluzzi, made history as the first woman to be shot out of a double-repeating cannon in the Ringling Brothers Circus.

“I think she was 14 in this picture,” Germana Meluzzi said, looking at a photo of her mother.

Parts of their family history, including her mom’s belongings, are celebrated inside the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art. There is even a video of her mother shooting out of the cannon.

“It’s such an honor," Meluzzi said. "I’m so proud of her and our family legacy."

Her family even donated their original compressed-air cannon to the museum.

“She was a great performer, and after her shot, after the show, she would stand outside and give people her autograph,” Meluzzi said.

Meluzzi said her mother wanted to treat everyone with respect, and make her fans feel included — it's a legacy she carries on today.

“I still perform," she said. "Circus is my life, and my kids' life."

The Meluzzis perform in 49 U.S. states, and anyone interested in seeing their act can find them at the Fort Myers Fair until March 10.