Luís de Matos (born 23 August 1970, full name Luís Manuel Curcialeiro Godinho de Matos)[1] is a Portuguesemagician. He has been called “the best known illusionist in Portugal”[1] and was the co-winner of the "Golden Grolla" in 2013 alongside Lu Chen and Dynamo.[2]
He was the youngest magician ever to receive "The Devant Award" from The Magic Circle (October 19, 2013).[3]
Life and career
Luis de Matos was born in Maputo, then called Lourenço Marques, Portuguese Mozambique, in 1970, a Portuguese overseas province until 1975. At the age of five he moved with his parents to Portugal where the family settled in Avelar, a civil parish of the municipality of Ansião.[1] At age 14, he moved to Coimbra to complete his technical studies, living with his cousins.[1] There, he earned a bachelor's degree (B.Ag) in agricultural technical engineering from Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra (ESAC) part of the Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra (IPC).[1]
He had his first guest appearances on television in 1990; then two years later hosted his own television series entitled "Isto é Magia!" ("This is Magic").[2] This was followed by several other TV magic shows.[1]
In 1995 Luis de Matos predicted the winning numbers of Portugal’s national lottery one week's time in advance and, as one journalist put it, went overnight “from being ‘the cute kid who does tricks’ into the David Copperfield of Portugal.”[4]
In the following years, he won several international prizes such as the "Magician of the year" (Hollywood Academy of Magical Arts − 1999) and the “Mandrake d’or” (French Society of Magicians − 2000).[2]
In 2003, he cooperated in preparing the opening ceremony for the Estádio do Dragão in Porto. During that ceremony, he had bags with pieces of blue silk distributed to the audience and asked them to hold the pieces aloft simultaneous. Then, he made all the some 52,000 pieces of silk vanish, a trick that entered the Guinness Book of Records.[4]
Luis de Matos has made appearances and started as a regular in TV shows worldwide like "Shalakabula" in Spain, BBC ”The Magicians”, and its latest Spanish version “Por Arte de Magia”.[5] He had a program for ten years on TVG.[1]
In 2010, in collaboration with David Britland and Marco Tempest, Luis de Matos organized The Essential Magic Conference, at that time the first online magic conference.[2] His most ambitious project to date is the creation of ESTÚDIO33 in Ansião, at the same time a TV studio, workshop, documentation center, and museum.[1]
In 2013 Luis de Matos received his third award by the Hollywood Academy of Magical Arts, the “Special Fellowship Award."[6]
Luís de Matos organizes the annual “Street Magic Festivals” in Portugal.[7]
Television
1990. First professional appearance on RTP1 Christmas Special ('Natal dos Hospitais') as the ceremony's host.
1991. Hosts a ten-minute spot on a morning show called 'Espaço Mágico' (13 episodes) on RTP1.
1992. Writes and hosts 'Isto é Magia' ('This is Magic') series (40 episodes) on RTP1.
1991. Participates as game show host on 'Caça ao Tesouro' ('Treasure Hunt') for 96 episodes on RTP1.
1992. Writes and hosts 'Isto é Magia' ('This is Magic') (26 episodes) on RTP1.
1994. Writes and hosts 'Noite Mágica' ('Magic Night') (26 episodes) on RTP1.
1996. Writes, produces and hosts 'Ilusões com Luis de Matos' (26 episodes) on RTP1 having Sónia Araújo as his assistant.
1996. Participates for the second time at Monaco's 'Champions of Magic', produced by ABC.
2001. Writes, produces and hosts 'Luis de Matos Ao Vivo' (13 episodes) on RTP1.
2005. Hosts with Catarina Furtado, live on RTP1 the 'Gala Pirilampo Mágico' (Portuguese famous gala show).
2006. 'Luis de Matos 3D' (TV Special) on RTP1.
2006. Participates as regular on the Spanish TV Show 'Shalakabula' (21 episodes).
2006. Begins his weekly participation on Spanish TV Show 'Luar' on TVG, which is still ongoing (currently in its 9th Season of participation).
2008. Writes, produces and hosts 'Mistérios' (13 episodes) on RTP1.
2009. Participates in several international TV Shows: 'Surprise, Surprise' (Romania) and 'Le Plus Grand Cabaret Du Monde' (France).
2011. The Magicians, (5 TV Specials) for BBC.
2011. Participates on RTP1 live gala show 'PORTUGAL APLAUDE' dedicated to arts.
2012. This is Magic, (2 TV Shows) recorded for MBC South Korea.
2013. Por Arte de Magia recorded in Spain for Antena 3.
2017. Luis de Matos Impossível live on RTP1 Portugal.
Tours
1999. "A Magia de Luis de Matos" ("Luis de Matos Magic"/"Mobile Theatre Tour") - first national tour (Portugal), 45 cities, 245 shows took place in a special venue created and designed by Luis de Matos called “Teatro Móvel” ("Mobile Theatre").