Author:
Silvan Prayogo, President of
Java Magic (Indonesian Magician from
Semarang city)
Published: 1st of October 2012, Monday
 |
| Traditional Philippine lunch with Mr. James Infiesto's family (10th of September 2012, Davao city) |
The 9th Asian Magic Association Convention was the first
Asian Magic Association (AMA) magic convention
in
the Philippines. Filipino magicians were proud of
this international convention. The magic convention
was hosted by the Inner Magic Club (IMC) in
Davao
city from the 14th until the 17th
of September 2012. I was privileged to see the 9th AMA Convention preparation.
 |
| Silvan Prayogo (Indonesian Magician) posed next to The Asian Stars of Magic poster in front of Blue Tree Fashion Boutique (the temporary office for Bonjee Entertainment Services) [10 September 20120] |
Mr. James Infiesto (a member of IMC and the director of the 9th
AMA Convention) and Jandee Infiesto (Mr. James Infiesto’s
son) warmly welcomed me in the arrival terminal of Davao
City’s Francisco Bangoy International Airport at around
11:00 a.m. on Monday, the 10th of September 2012.
It was great to see Mr. James Infiesto once again after our
first meeting in 2007 Magic Festival, Malaysia.
 |
| Mr. James Infiesto (left), Mayor Sara Z. Duterte, and Silvan Prayogo (right) [10 September 2012, Monday] |
Most of
the 9th AMA Convention preparation in Davao took
place in a fashion boutique where Bonjee Entertainment
Services (BES) office would be until September 12. Several
BES staffs such as Joyce D. Cesar, Cheysser Santiago
Camahalan, Jane Calonia, and Abby Dalipe were busy
responding conventioneers via emails while preparing the
magic convention technical matters such as meals, ticketing,
souvenirs, security, promotions, etc. Armed with laptops and
Nokias, fueled with Mc Donald’s Chicken Rice packs, BES
staffs worked tirelessly from morning till night. A sudden
change in convention hotel was one of the urgent matters
they had to solve within days. “We use an event organizer
like Bonjee Entertainment Services to professionally manage
the convention. The staffs are focused on this task,” said
Mr. James Infiesto.
 |
| Silvan Prayogo (Indonesian magician from Semarang city) and Chief of Staff Lemuel G. Ortonio |
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| Silvan Prayogo (Indonesian magician) and Head of City Administration Attorney Lyka Lopez |
Magicians
and magic clubs in Davao did their best to support
the 9th
AMA Convention. Mr. Peter Mural from Davao Square Magic
Society was one of Davao magicians who closely assisted the
9th AMA Convention management. “This is an
important event for all magicians in the Philippines. We
must work together for the success of this event,” said Mr.
Peter Mural. Michael Zalamangkah (founder of Panaboans Magic
Society and a member of United Mahikeros of Mindanao)
couldn’t agree more. Michael Zalamangkah and his friends
made foreign conventioneers felt more welcome in Davao city.
 |
| Discussion with Pinnacle Hotel management (11 September 2012). In this photo (from left): Mr. Bert Barriga,Mr. Peter Mural, Mrs. Joyce D. Cesar (seated) and Mr. James Infiesto. |
The 9th AMA Convention also received a generous support from the
Davao City Government and the Philippines Department of
Tourism especially for security and promotion. Convention
sites were secured by military and police force in uniform
and plain clothes. “The Philippines, especially Davao, is a
safe and friendly place to visit and have a magic
convention,” as AMA General Secretary Albert Tam from Hong
Kong later said during the closing ceremony on the 17th
of September 2012.
Mr. James
Infiesto introduced me to Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte
in Davao City Hall. The mayor reserves Monday to personally
meet Davao citizens in her office. I witnessed common
people, dressed casually, cueing for their turn to speak to
the mayor. The citizens may talk about personal matters such
as education, economy, etc. “The mayor listens to people’s
ideas and problems,” explained Mr. James Infiesto. Mayor
Sara Z. Duterte and her dedicated staffs such as Chief of
Staff Lemuel G. Ortonio and Chief of City Administration
Attorney Lyka Lopez successfully make Davao city the safest
and most livable city in Asia. Another astonishing
achievement is the successful implementation of NO SMOKING
policy in Davao City.
The 9th AMA Convention had been intensely
promoted months earlier via a website, internet social
media, newspaper articles, a large billboard, fliers,
brochures, posters distributions, and press conferences. On
Tuesday, September 11, Panda (a French magician based
in China) and I were the first two foreign magicians to
publicly promote the magic convention in Quezon Park (across
the Davao City Hall). I performed several close up
magic routines such as the four colored silks blendo and the
linking safety pins. Panda performed balloon arts and tongue
- piercing bizarre magic. Stage director Arnold Allanigui,
Ian Santarin Martin (champion of national close up
magic), and Mr. James Infiesto performed magic shows
in a press conference the following day in the City Hall
conference room to promote the convention. All promotional
magic shows were broadcasted by ABS CBN TV and
radio stations. Then, in the morning of September 13,
Mr. James Infiesto was interviewed by ABS CBN once more in
the Pinnacle Hotel lobby. Mrs. Skye Bangoy Dionela
and Jandee Infiesto were seen busy preparing Mr.
James Infiesto to look good for the interview. The magic
convention activities were also nicely documented in
photographs by Mr. Perkins Bayron and Mr. Boy
Samson.
We also surveyed the convention sites such as the Pinnacle
hotel (the ballroom, the magic dealers room, etc) and the
University of Mindanao Matina Gym (for the Asian
Stars of Magic on the 14th and 15th
of September 2012). Guest performers for Asian Stars of
Magic got their chance to set up stage condition such as
properties positioning, lighting and sound (music) on the
day of their performance. Paper tapes with the guest
performers’ names written on them scattered on the stage
floor to mark their performance area. I marked three areas
on the stage for my magic properties. Stage director
Arnold Allanigui worked closely with each guest star to
set up the stage. He provided a selection of backdrop theme
designs for guest performers during their shows. In addition
to entertainment, Asian Stars of Magic was an effort to
raise fund to help children with cancers. The beneficiary of
Asian Stars of Magic was Kids of Hope (Davao Children’s
Cancer Fund, Inc).
On Wednesday, September 12, meetings for the convention
preparation moved from the fashion boutique into a meeting
room on the second floor of Pinnacle hotel to accommodate
more people. People involved in organizing the 9th
AMA Convention such as IMC President Alexander I. Lagula,
Convention Chairman Cris Castro, Mr. Arnold
Allanigui, Mr. Beling Rodrigurez from ABS CBN,
City Mayor Computer System and Communications Consultant
Bert Barriga (the consultant for the 9th AMA
Convention), BES staffs, and many others got together more
frequently to discuss and implement the final preparation of
the convention. Their meetings could last from morning until
late at night. Some said that organizing a magic convention
means a few hours of sleep and many cups of coffee. Details
such as the stage set up, schedules, and Mayor Sara Z.
Duterte magic show were discussed. Yes, the Mayor of Davao
performed a brief magic show, the blooming flower in a pot,
during the 9th AMA Convention opening ceremony.
Despite challenging pressures such as the China – Philippine
territorial dispute, past security incidence in the
Philippines, and other unsuspected last minutes problems,
Philippines has successfully organized the 9th
AMA Convention. The magic convention showed united
effort and dedication by magicians, government, and general
public of the Philippines. I am grateful for the opportunity
to witness the hard work behind the 9th AMA
Convention.
Article and photos also available in www.javamagiccenter.com.
Photos and comments are also available at Java Magic
Facebook: Jav Magix (javamagiccenter@gmail.com)
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