Presidential performance highlights magic career
Jamie Salinas performs at the Improv Comedy Theater in Houston.
“I think the biggest intrigue for people about magic is the unknown. Just the amazement factor of watching a trick and not having a clue how it happened.
“I’ve been performing magic for 30 years, the last 25 professionally, and I’ve worked in a lot of venues. A memorable time was when an agent called and asked if I could go to the Houstonian Hotel for a private event. I had done lots of events, and sometimes there would be a senator there.
“When you arrive, Secret Service will check your bags and that sort of thing for security purposes. So as I’m performing at this event, I notice there are a lot more Secret Service agents than usual. Then all of a sudden, someone tells me that President George Bush is about to come in. They say, ‘You’re going to do one trick for him. You’re going to spend no more than 5 minutes, and then you’re going to move on. You cannot ask him for an autograph. You cannot take a picture with him holding a deck of cards or any kind of props. You can only take a picture with him shaking hands.’
“Before I knew it, here he comes. People are shaking his hand, and then they finally bring me over. I do a quick trick for him, and he is just the nicest guy. He says, ‘This is amazing.’
“His wife, Barbara, was on the other side of the room meeting people. So he yells out, ‘Barbara, come here. You have to see this guy. He’s amazing.’ She comes over, and I ended up doing 15-20 minutes of magic for the president and his wife. It was like performing for my grandparents. They were the nicest people.
“Finally, someone had to tell him, ‘Mr. President, there are other people who need to meet you. You need to move on.’ So they thanked me, and that was it.
“But it was one of the neatest experiences because he was such a down-to-earth, nice person. Fortunately, it all happened so fast, I didn’t have time to get too nervous.”
— Jamie Salinas
Jamie performed at Magic Island in Houston for many years, and he recalls sawing a cheerleader in half at a University of Houston basketball game at Hofheinz Pavilion. These days, he keeps busy doing magic for children’s birthday parties and company events. He also volunteers at area hospitals and Ronald McDonald House, and responds to requests from the Sunshine Kids and Make-A-Wish Foundation.
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