The excellent magician

In Puerto Rico we went to see the performance of a man from Cuba who had been a magician for many years. It was excellent, but from the beginning to the end, Alo didn't like it because the magician was telling all lies.

In the beginning of the performance he did a mind-reading act. He looked into a crystal ball and said he clearly saw that somebody in the audience had a particular problem. He said that this person had sat for an examination and was worrying like anything whether he would pass or fail. Then he said, "Now, if the person I am speaking about is here, please raise your hand." Someone raised her hand and everyone was so moved. Then two other ladies stood up and said, "Shame, shame! She works for you. She was at the gate collecting tickets. She only changed her dress." So the trick was ruined.

Then the magician said that somebody else in the audience was working very hard to discover something, and he asked whoever it was to stand up. This person was also one of the magician's workers. Stupid fellow, he started to get up but then he hesitated because he was afraid of being challenged like the other lady. Then another fellow who was sitting in the audience pulled him up. Alo said, "Look at this!"

Then the magician hypnotised a young girl. She was his daughter. He told her to stand up and then he took out a stick and put it right under her and raised her sideways off the ground so that she was floating in the air. Bansidhar had gone to the stage to be a helper. Later he told us that he had clearly seen that the girl had a very thin but very strong iron plate inside her trousers. So when the magician was doing all this, one of his assistants was holding the girl up with wires attached to the iron plate. At one point during the performance, the magician entered into a big cauldron filled with boiling water, and then they put on the lid. Bansidhar and three other observers were watching. Bansidhar said that he had seen another compartment underneath the cauldron where the magician could move.

At another time the magician asked a little boy from the audience, "Will you allow me to chop your head off?" The little boy ran away. Then another one came up on the stage. He was about ten years old, and he was laughing while the magician was chopping off his head.

At another point, a lady was lying on a bed, and the magician said that with his occult power he would make her levitate. Then he passed his stick near her, and the lady went up.

Then the magician asked a young girl, "Tell me correctly, who discovered America?"

The girl said, "Hernandez Colon," their former Governor, my friend. She was a little girl, so everybody laughed.

The "San Juan Star" had said that his performance was excellent — the best in San Juan. That's why we went to see him. But Ashrita is a far better magician. When Ashrita performs, quite a few things fool me. But here, four or five things I could see how he did, and some of them I could even do myself. But we knew it was all in fun. I enjoyed it from beginning to end.