The magicians, Nuno Miguel Neto and Tiago Silva met four years ago and since then have performed magic together on the streets, but now they have given it a new form with a recent project- "Magia com Impacto" that aims to bring magic to those who need it most.

Tiago Silva, who started when he was 17, told me that he does a bit of everything, from stage to close-up magic. As for Nuno, he likes to do magic tricks with cards. "The cards fit everywhere, which means we can have an hour of entertainment in our pocket."

Last week “Magia com Impacto” performed their first magic show at the AHSA nursing home in Albufeira. Among an audience of 50 people, "we could see on people's faces, both staff and elderly people, that they were grateful we were there and that's what we really want - we want people to enjoy our presence".

Going where no one goes


Although they love supporting the elderly, they want to go beyond. "We know that the elderly obviously need us, but there are other types of entertainment planned for them. What we'd really like to do is reach out to people who don't have anything planned," Nuno said.

"We want to reach the really poor communities, like slums, prisons, hospitals and so on. Taking hospitals as an example, they have red noses, but always focused on children, but for adults there is nothing. My mother was in the hospital next to a man who had been there for three weeks without receiving a single visit. This breaks my heart," Nuno lamented.

However, the magicians admit that it is a difficult goal to achieve as hospital and prison administrations are "closed" and when it comes to slums, if we go there without a person or association we already know they will kick us out," he said.


Good hearts

Nuno and Tiago target people who are sometimes forgotten by society. When I asked where these altruistic feelings came from, they quickly replied that they had both gone through life experiences that shaped their thoughts.

"I have a brother with a disability and I work in an organisation that helps people with disabilities (APEXA) and I see every day discriminatory situations towards all these target groups. Having a brother with a disability has opened my eyes to things that I wouldn't see otherwise", Nuno added.

As for Tiago, he comes from a poor family living in an isolated region with no access to art. "The first time I went to a show, I thought how it is possible that people like me don't have that access? From now on, I don't want to see people without access to culture. I don't want them to go through what I went through, not having access to art, not having access to magic," he told The Portugal News.

In short, they want to make people happy. "Even if the problems still exist, at that very moment when the magic happens, people forget about them for a while," Tiago concluded.

It is key to spread the word. For more details or to follow their work, please follow https://www.facebook.com/magiacomimpacto and/or https://www.instagram.com/magiacomimpacto/

Author

Paula Martins is a fully qualified journalist, who finds writing a means of self-expression. She studied Journalism and Communication at University of Coimbra and recently Law in the Algarve. Press card: 8252

Paula Martins