The capital city still smells of magic. Tricks with handkerchiefs, doves, letters and other sensations return of the hand of their creators to leave us the flavor of the trickery and the mystery of this art. The Ánfora Magic Festival gave the public competitions, shows, entertainments and more attractions with the performance of magicians from most of the island's provinces and countries such as Nicaragua, United States, Costa Rica and Canada.

Las Tunas, Cuba.- The event, which for more than twenty years has defended the ancient art in the country, was dedicated on this occasion to César Reyes Ampudia and Manuel Romero Gascó, Cubans with an outstanding trajectory in this art.

As it is tradition, Jose Reynerio Valdivia Valdivia (Magician Píter) was honored in the inaugural ceremony.

He promoted the manifestation with the creation of a school, a company and this event for the confluence of talents. María Ibáñez (Magician Merlina) also performed the Varita Quebrada ritual in honor of José Ayra, recently deceased, who until last year was a faithful participant in the Ánfora.

Other personalities participated in the event such as Thom Bedlam (Canada) and Magician Gasso (U.S.A.), who give lectures and the North American Ibáñez.

In the Tunas Theater, the Raúl Gómez García room and the Tuyo theater cultural center, locations of the party of letters and top hats, several activities were carried out. Among the activities, some night shows highlighted: the Magic Hurricane company (the host) developed its Magic Night, with singular proposals as a sample of great illusions little worked in Cuba; a girl that levitates by the stage, "the flight of the angel," according to Rodelay León Figueredo, Magician Rudy, who is director of such artistic group.

He, who has been participating in this event for 19 years, affirmed: "Magic has evolved a lot and this has been seen here before it was more classic, they acted dressed in tailcoats, with gloves and canes. Today, there are other customs, the magician works with a black jean as well as a blue one; the acts have also been modernized. Although I feel that the meaning of the festival has changed due to a budget problem (a long time ago, there were 200 magicians participating, now there are less than 100), this year we have more foreign participants than in other editions.

Last Sunday, the initiative Giving joy arrived at the Pediatric Hospital. Meanwhile, the children's show "The magic is of colors" (Villa Clara company) shined the Raúl Gómez García room at 11:00 a.m. In the afternoon, there was an award ceremony for outstanding personalities from this guild at the Vicente García memorial and the awards ceremony took place at 5:00 p.m. at the Tunas Theater.

The jury, presided over by Fernando Rodríguez Vázquez, awarded the most outstanding in the modalities of card, close-up, general and comic magic, mentalism, and small and great illusions.

The delivery of the Ánfora recognized the province of Camagüey, deserving the prizes in great illusions and best male performance, and the much-coveted award for the best show for adults.

Las Tunas province remained among the most awarded by winning the first place in card, comic and general magic, and the best female performance, along with the second and third seats in grand illusions and close-up magic, respectively.

Havana, represented by a large number of young artists, proved the worth of the new vanguard of Cuban magicians after be laureated in mentalism, comic and card magic.

The audience at the gala awards feted with applause to the delegation from Matanzas for the recognitions and for reaching the second place in the categories of card and general magic, as well as a mention in small illusions.

Performances, spectacles, and activities such as magic parties highlighted this modality during the 24th edition of the event that distinguishes Las Tunas as the Magic City of Cuba