Most magicians know Joaquin Ayala, Mexico's famous illusionist and master of theatrical magic, from his many appearances on television that include "The World's Greatest Magic." Ayala has headlined in Las Vegas and is currently touring with his production of "Magic Passion." And beyond his busy show schedule, he recently launched his new production company that specializes in the construction, design and consulting of magical special effects, illusions, props, scenery and costuming for the entertainment business.
During performances, the dramatic and charismatic Ayala commands the stage. In person, Ayala is warm and personable, but that magnetic presence that serves him so well on stage is always with him. Ayala took time out from his busy schedule to talk with Magic & Illusion about his new production company, latest shows and about magic and presentation.
Wayne N. Kawamoto: Please tell me about your new production company.
Joaquin Ayala: This is a path that I just started. I have been building and designing illusions all my life and felt that I could help my colleagues in magic. A couple of years ago, Celebrity Cruises had an emergency. They had to build props for a cast of 30 people and the company that designed [and built] for Celebrity Cruises went out of business.
They [Carnival Cruises] found out at a meeting that I was a licensed welder as well as an entertainer. They asked me, "who do you know who can do this?" and I said that "I can do this." I designed, for the first time, some props for the dancers, and the cruise company was very happy and gave me other contracts.
In the mean time, I was designing and building scenery and big illusions for a play called "The Return of Houdini." There was a company in Iceland who wanted to do a play about Houdini. They consulted several people and got my name. I convinced them and built all of the special effects and big illusions for "The Return of Houdini," which will appear on Broadway.
Then my friend Franz Harary found out what I was doing and said he wanted to make the Stratosphere hotel and casino in Las Vegas disappear. So I built the disappearance of the Stratosphere.
Then there's my friend, Criss Angel, who is very hot. I've known Criss Angel since I was ten years old. When I was living in Mexico, Criss was living in New York. And when we were kids, we used to send letters to each other. We have had that relationship, that friendship, since then. He [Criss Angel] called me and said Joaquin, I want you to build me some stuff. And I worked with him on some ideas for the season.
WK: Where did you obtain your background in the other theatrical arts?
Ayala: I studied carpentry and tailoring because it was a requirement in school in Mexico. But I found that hand-making stuff, making things, is my forte. I love to design stuff and I like to build stuff. If I wasn't a magician, maybe I would be a rock singer or actor, because I love to be on stage. Or maybe, I would be a carpenter or a welder.
Now that I'm getting older, I'm doing both things. I'm doing some acting with the plays and then doing some magic. I'm the carpenter and the tailor and that's keeping me busy.
When I performed [magic], I always want to do something different. I would physically play with my illusions-I would change this, change that and change materials. And I would break them apart. It wasn't because that they were poorly built, I wanted to make them different and better.
WK: Where do you get your inspiration for tricks and illusions?
Ayala: To be honest, it just happens. I'm driving and I come up with an idea, or I think I want to do something different. We as performers use magic as a tool and we are there to entertain our audiences. For me, to be honest, the magic is less important. The personality is the most important.
People come to see Wayne. They don't come to see your tricks. They come to see you. The way you communicate with your audience, the tools that you use to communicate with your audience is your tricks.
Magic by itself is not an art. Who makes it an art is the artist. We can’t consider a magic trick a piece of art because maybe a magic trick is a prop with a system that may be interesting, but it's not going to work if it's not coached by an angel, and we are the angels. As performers, we need to justify that magic is an art.
A singer uses lyrics and the meaning of songs, but the way that they sing moves your feelings. When you talk about people like Lance Burton, he makes magic with his hands. With his hands, he makes birds appear from nowhere. People, they don't remember what he did, they remember him.
