Showing no signs of slowing down, this Succor-based septuagenarian did Goa proud once again at the 5th All India Magic Convention on February 20 and 21 this year hosted by the All India Magic Academy Goa in Mathura where he clinched the 2nd prize in the senior magician’s category. And for the record – he is only one of three senior most magicians in India, who still performs.
Practising a craft for over five decades and going professional for the last 27 years, Reggie confesses his first love for magic started in 1960 when he saw a movie on the famed magician Houdini. Spurred on he worked as a magician’s assistant in Bombay where he grew up as a young lad. “I recall at that time we were paid a princely sum of Rs. 2 per show,” Reggie reminisces. A membership with the prestigious Magic Circle, London further helped Reggie fine tune his skills and exchange ideas with the best in the industry.
A job opportunity in Kuwait as a Rolex watch maker, put magic on the back-burner, but Reggie’s return to Goa in 1989, saw his passion and craft flourish once again. “It became my second career once I returned home here,” states Reggie whose forte was conjuring on stage with a wide variety of items – from ropes to cards, silks and the like. Yet, he was instrumental in introducing the concept of table/close-up magic in Goa when he returned, performing at most of the starred hotels here. “Earlier magic was much more elaborate while today it is more interactive,” explains Reggie while elaborating on the concept. “Table magic is performed at each table, hence it is much more interactive and accuracy of skill is an absolute. On stage one has the advantage of distance, lighting, music, attendance and greater misdirection, but at close distance, you are just inches from the eyes of your audience, hence technical skills have to be accurate. One also needs more people/interactive skills here. But this is not to dismiss stage magic which is equally important,” clarifies this solo performer.
Over the years, Reggie has clinched several awards including the Rolex Magician special award for lifetime achievement by Rolex in Geneva, the SAARC ‘93 Haryana Regional Magic Conference among a host of others.
To keep himself abreast with the latest, Reggie attends two to three magic conferences a year, but practice takes several hours a day, sometimes stretching way into the night. “What you see is a small fraction of our work. But it’s strenuous with over eight hours of practice a day,” reveals Reggie who has over the years developed many original acts. “The magicians art is based on perceptions, psychology, voice, misdirection and direction of action,” reveals this master of illusion as he slips into another facile trick. The ‘tricks of the trade’ are safe with this family with son Agostinho following in his father’s footsteps.
Till then these magicians are ready to pull another trick out of the hat!
