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Cartificios

Otero, Luis

Luis Alberto Otero Castro

(Based on 1 review)
Luis Otero is one of Latin America's most respected professional magicians. He has been a featured performer at the famous Magic Castle, The 4F convention, Jornadas del Escorial in Spain (where Master Juan Tamariz invites just 40 of the top minds in card magic), FISM, and numerous other performances and lectures worldwide.

In Cartificios, you will find well thought out stunning routines that are the result of countless hours of Luis Otero studying and amazing with pasteboards.

"Cartifice" Luis Otero demonstrates and explanations the details that make every one of the pieces in this DVD set real gems that you will use and amaze your audiences with. This will be a tremendous treat for advanced card lovers.

Here is a sampling of what Luis shares with you in Cartificios:

Hot Side Faces: A very visual, stunning, and magical change of two selected cards.
Re-Sandwiched: Two selected cards appear between two kings, one at a time. A sandwich effect that will fool you badly.
That's How They Are: An engaging effect with a devilish combination of principles.
Metamorphosis: Houdini's incredible effect for close up, impromptu.
Progressive Oil and Water: A highly visual and amazing oil and water routine.
Name Empathy: A beautiful effect with a very strong magical moment.
Photogenic card: A very commercial plot... take an imaginary picture of a thought of card.
ACAAN: Two very useful techniques applied to this classic of magic... really a great contribution to your sleight arsenal.
Cold Spelling: The ultimate spelling routine with a great climax.
Blind Estimation: A master piece of principles, numbers and magic combined in an extraordinary multi-climax routine.

Be prepared to be fooled over and over after watching Luis Otero's Cartificios and then be delighted to learn the wonderful secrets behind these card miracles.

Running Time: Approximately 110mins

Reviews

Joe Diamond

Official Reviewer

Jan 27, 2011

This DVD raises the bar of card magic to a new level! Thanks to the magic of DVD and translation, we can appreciate and learn the work of Luis Otero. The magic on this DVD fooled me over and over again, even with repeated viewings, and after watching the explanations.

Luis is a performer in every sense of the word. He is charming, funny, and energetic. He knows how to build up the effect to the point of impossibility. You can definitely see some influence from Juan Tamariz, but he is his own person. The DVD graphics and menu are very elegant, simple, and look great! The teaching segments are very clear, especially since Luis is being translated.

The card work show cased on this DVD ranges from intermediate to advanced skill levels. You need to be able to pull off moves like the faro shuffle and second deal in front of an audience in many of the effects. Don’t let that scare you, the material all looks great, without a dud in the entire bunch. Pretty much all the effects require you to be sitting at a table, so don’t look for too much material that is suitable for walk around gigs. This is material for the formal sit down show. While I think some of these effects are purely for magicians, many of the effects will definitely work for a layperson audience as well. I can see throwing in one or two of these effects into a show to ensure you fool the hell out of the magicians while entertaining the laypeople.

Some of the effects use set up decks. However, no gimmicked cards, or extra apparatus are needed. Some of my personal favorites are:

“Re-sandwiched” is a perfect effect for both magicians and laypeople. I showed this DVD to my good friend who knows a lot more about card magic than me, and he was pacing around the room yelling “No Way!” after just seeing this effect on video.

While many of the effects are a little long and require a set up, “Photogenic card” and “Metamorphosis” are quick impromptu effects. They each have a fresh visual element to each of them. Both are a little angle sensitive, but not unworkable.

“Blind Estimation” is like a punch to the stomach for just about any one who is breathing. It just seems like there is no way to know anything about the cards cut off from a shuffled deck. After I watched the explanation, I then watched the performance again, and I was still fooled. That’s how bulletproof this effect and method is.

In closing, if you are an advanced close up card worker, you should get this. In my opinion, this is the Best Card Magic DVD of the year!

Five Stars
(Top ▲)