Juan Tamariz recounted that at just four years old he was already mesmerized by magic when his parents took him to a theater to see a magician’s show, and that at six he made his first attempts thanks to a Magia Borrás box he was given. And since then he never stopped. A trick here, another there, and almost 80 years dedicated to a show that made him a national and global reference, an icon for countless generations of children who grew up glued to his card and mentalism tricks, and for a world, that of magic, that still venerates him as one of its great historical figures.
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And the word, game, matters here. Because Juan Tamariz, who passed away this Tuesday at the age of 83, as announced by his daughter Ana on social media, never wanted to be a magician nor did he deal in magic tricks. Because trick to the great modern reference of magic in this country sounded like deception. He did not intend to deceive, he always preferred entertainment. Playing so that everyone would have a smile. “With immense sadness, today I say goodbye to my father Juan Tamariz, an incredible person, very loved and admired by all. Extremely grateful for all the love he gave me and for all the love for Magic that he gave us,” his daughter, director of the magic school they both founded in the late 80s, stated through her Instagram account.
Juan Tamariz: “I am 80 years old and I still have everything to learn about magic”
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At just 11 years old, already glued to the books of the priest and magician Wenceslao Ciuró, he began to delve into the psychological technique of illusionism, understanding that it was all beyond developing a simple trick, that there was something more behind to captivate the audience. Precisely, he would later end up bequeathing an extensive educational work about the world of magic, with a three-volume history of this discipline or publications such as Mnemónica or La vía mágica -in which he presents his famous method of false clues- that are still studied in schools worldwide. Those publications were translated into 17 languages and he also left his daughter a library with more than 2,000 volumes with notes from the great Spanish master of magic, which he intended to keep expanding with the help of some of his colleagues. A bibliographic source that seems endless.
Such was Tamariz’s learning ability and precocity, a Physics student always devoted to illusionism, that the Spanish Magic Society had to admit him even before he reached the minimum age required to join. Two years earlier than allowed, he was already there. Like a game. In 1972, he had already won the Grand Prize of the National Magic Congress and, the following year, he won the World Card Magic Prize held in Paris, launching his career to an international dimension without borders. That man with a mane hidden under a huge top hat, with brightly colored shirts and his chan-tatachán as a battle cry was already the best magician in the world. Just like that, in the blink of an eye. Without anyone noticing, there he was. Bang.
Although television made him a popular icon in our country in the 70s and 80s and the magician of several generations of children with shows like Por arte de magia, Magia Potagia or El recreo, Tamariz’s global dimension goes far beyond that image. The great American escapologist, David Blaine, described him as “the greatest and most influential card magician of today”. Just a couple of years ago, the New York Times dedicated the cover of its Sunday magazine to him, despite having already retired from live shows, with the headline: “The man who turned Spain into the magic capital of the world”.
In that publication is one of the best images to define the two visions, national and global, that accompanied Juan Tamariz. “In Spain, Tamariz is an icon, but not like Blaine or David Copperfield but like Kermit the Frog”. That is, like the children’s character that no generation has not clung to, to whom special affection is professed and from whom, however, the historical dimension as a professional is lost among all those feelings.
Until Juan Tamariz arrived, in the United States, magic was a grandiose stage show, with boxes and lights shining everywhere. The greatest Spanish illusionist of all time showed up there with his two hands and his decks of cards. Nothing more than that and his charisma to convince the audience that magic was possible, that with a simple distraction it had already sprung. His close-up magic, the name given to the discipline he perfected, ended up enchanting the entire globe. Everyone wanted to see that Spaniard who had invented hundreds of tricks that no one had reached and wanted to learn the techniques to spread them.
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Even today many of the tricks that Tamariz made worldwide – also amplified by his follower David Blaine on American television – remain trending on social media. It is not hard to find on TikTok, a recital of magicians displaying all kinds of card tricks for their audience. Many of them are directly those that Tamariz created at the time or are inspired by some of those he performed in his extensive career, which professionally spans more than 50 years.
To reach those tricks, ranging from The game of the four blue cards to Magicolor, Juan Tamariz first developed a deep study of magic techniques. From Ciuró’s manuals he took card deck control; from the Italian Tony Slydini, whom he met during his trips to Madrid, he adopted that style between the excessive and the humorous that resonated among his followers; with the lawyer Arturo de Ascanio he delved into the concept of distraction… The great master of Spanish magic also read about esoteric matters and alchemy. With all this, he built a combination never seen before and that still endures among magic professionals.
Because Tamariz dedicated a good part of his life to training in this discipline, almost as much as to magic itself. In 1988, together with his daughter Ana, he founded in Madrid The Great School of Magic Ana Tamariz to guarantee the training of all those who wanted to embark on the path he had started almost from the cradle. More than a training place, the space ended up becoming a school of thought – as the founders themselves defined it – both for the students who passed through and for the teachers.
The school’s lessons were adapted each year, without repeating, under the guidance of the Master, the nickname with which all magic professionals, from the greatest to the beginners, referred to Juan Tamariz. Professionals like Jorge Blass, who arrived there at 12 years old and who still remains as a teacher; Anthony Blake, who is one of the main trainers at the center; Woody Aragón, Miguel de Lucas or Jandro – collaborator for years of El Hormiguero -, names that have appeared constantly on this country’s television in recent years, drank from those lessons.
Everything related to magic in Spain, one way or another, has been influenced by Juan Tamariz. An immense figure, a legend who always had one more trick. Until the end. Chan-tatachán.
