Biz Beat: Magic a labor of love for Hanford's Quintero

The thick chains rattle and clink as the magician effortlessly removes one hand, then the other from the padlocked handcuffs.

"This is one of the tricks Houdini performed before he died," he says from beneath a black top hat with a large smile.

Magic has experienced somewhat of a renaissance in the last decade. Kids worldwide are pouring over British author J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series, longing for their own magic wands and spells. And street musicians on television like David Blaine and Criss Angel have made it cool to be into magic.

But Hanford resident Sergio Quintero doesn't do it for money or for notoriety. He performs primarily on weekends for small gatherings despite the urgings of other magicians, who say he could make so much more.

His payment, he says, comes from the reaction of kids.

"I don't do it for the money, I do it because I love to see the kids' faces," he said. "Once you see the reaction, that's more pay than the money."

Quintero, 46, has been performing magic tricks part-time for the last six years. A Hanford resident for 17 years, he performs an hour-long act for birthdays, church groups and other events.

He estimates he makes around $1,500 a year performing. Which is fine, because it's enough to take care of the doves and rabbit he makes disappear.

"Magic makes you think beyond your everyday thinking, he said. "I think that's the enjoyment at any age. You're a kid at any age when that happens to you."

"I'll rip up a card with their signature, then show them right before their eyes as I put it back together," he said. "They're like, 'No way!'"

As a child, he always was fascinated by magicians on television, but never thought of doing it professionally.

Then, while performing some simple disappearing-tricks for coworkers at his day job as a maintenance mechanic, a coworker upped the ante, and pulled a trick on him.

His coworker was already performing professionally, and encouraged Quintero to pursue it more. So he started practicing, talking to other magicians, and buying more magician supplies.

While on a cruise with his wife, he performed in a talent show, and got a taste of what it was like to perform on a big stage. The audience went crazy for his act, including tearing up an itinerary and piecing it back together. He won the competition.

Afterwards, a professional magician from Los Angeles who was hired by the cruise ship asked him who his agent was.

"I told him I didn't have an agent," Quintero said. "He told me I was going about it all wrong. He said, 'They pick me up in L.A. In Mazatlan I do two shows, and when we get to Puerto Vallarta they fly me back for $5,000.' I said to my wife, 'Did you hear what he just said?'"

But performing like that would eat in to family time. He has three kids, and no desire to leave Hanford.

Another obstacle to big shows is the expense. Some items needed for larger tricks, like cutting someone in half, can cost upwards of $5,000.

He said the hardest thing about the magic business is when the audience is indifferent.

"When that happens, the clock ticks so slow."

He finds the best advertisement comes when people see his act first-hand.

"When I go have dinner with my family, I'll see a couple kids at a nearby table. I'll grab a napkin and make it disappear. They'll be like 'Oh mom! Did you see that!' I'll then give the parents my card."

For more information contact Quintero at 707-1363.

(Aug. 24, 2007)