{"id":86895,"date":"2017-02-16T06:00:52","date_gmt":"2017-02-16T11:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oncubamagazine.com\/?p=86895"},"modified":"2018-10-02T22:18:28","modified_gmt":"2018-10-03T02:18:28","slug":"two-cubans-in-the-mecca-of-magic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/culture\/two-cubans-in-the-mecca-of-magic\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Cubans in the mecca of magic"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the unique voice and tone of circus presenters, and in English with an evident Russian accent, the Ringmaster announces them: \u201cFrom sensual and rhythmic Havana Cuba, please welcome Sixtooooo & Luc\u00edaaaaaa!\u201d<\/p>\n

The public bursts out in applause and I, whose chauvinistic pride is stirred, applaud stronger than anyone there. Like in a radio program, in comes the Latin music and, almost at the same time, in come the artists. Everything happens very fast. I don\u2019t even have time to think of how happy my boyfriend would be if I could dress at that speed.<\/p>\n

Sixto and Luc\u00eda are Cuban magicians residing in Cuba with more and better international projection. King and queen of the quick change, an illusionistic modality unprecedented on the island, they have performed with the world\u2019s most important circus companies.<\/p>\n

From China to Moscow, and through Latin America, they have won ovations, awards and, by pure work, the right to be in the Grand Cabaret, the French magic program in which every magician wants to be. The mecca of magic, we could say.<\/p>\n

Luc\u00eda is from Guanabacoa and she can\u2019t deny it. Extroverted, expressive, \u201cI\u2019m from the land of artists,\u201d she says with pride. Wherever he goes Sixto carries with him what he learned in Valle de Picadura, Madruga.<\/p>\n

A professional couple as well as in life, Sixto and Luc\u00eda spoke to OnCuba<\/strong> minutes before their show with the Great Moscow Circus in the South African city of Johannesburg.<\/p>\n

\"Luc\u00eda<\/a>
Luc\u00eda and Sixto. Photo: Christian Sudre.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why did you choose the quick change?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sixto: I had been a magician for a long time. In Cuba we magicians did the same thing since we all had more or less the same products available for magic\u2026. Since we don\u2019t have magic shops, we make our own products. One day when I was with Luc\u00eda, returning from Haiti after the earthquake, we decided to change the direction of what we were doing. We liked that subject of quick change and we made up our minds.<\/p>\n

How did you learn to do it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sixto: There was a video in Cuba of a quick change couple, an international couple. The video had spread around in cell phones and magicians really know the secrets. We found a dressmaker and we started.<\/p>\n

Luc\u00eda: We also invented a bit, we some vision but they are very old secrets and we added a bit of what we thought it was. In fact, I don\u2019t know if we invented a technique or we modernized it, but it really worked for us and we have maintained it up to now.<\/p>\n

When you performed in Russia, you won the bronze prize in the 2015 International Circus Art Festival of Izhevsk. On several occasions you have said that this is a gold prize for you. Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Luc\u00eda: The Russians modernized and made popular the quick change in the 1960s and 1970s, the Russian public is a great connoisseur of this number, it\u2019s not like other countries where we have performed and we become aware that the public hasn\u2019t seen this type of live performance. Not in Russia, in Russia the public knows it and is very jealous about it.<\/p>\n

When the Cubans arrived to present a number that they feel very much is theirs, we said to ourselves \u201clet\u2019s see what happens.\u201d And not only was the public\u2019s reaction really good but we even won a prize.<\/p>\n

Despite the fact that today you have traveled through more than 18 countries, Haiti\u2019s experience continues being mentioned a lot\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Luc\u00eda: Haiti was the first international experience we had, it was different from the others and is one of the most important we have had. We went to Haiti for 41 days as volunteers with the Martha Machado brigade, to a country where after the earthquake around a quarter of a million persons had died.<\/p>\n

We worked in hospitals, in camps\u2026we even worked in a camp that was located close to the common grave, where thousands and thousands of persons had been buried. We would get to an orphanage and we would see sad children, crying, mutilated. They had lost their parents, their grandparents or a friend. We worked and they would end up laughing.<\/p>\n

We went as volunteers. What motivated us was to make the people happy. Every night we would go to bed and we would say, wow, today we did something for someone.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s being an artist, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n