Luís de Matos


Luís Manuel Curcialeiro Godinho de Matos is a Portuguese magician. In 2013, he was a co-winner of the "Golden Grolla" alongside Lu Chen and Dynamo. On 19 October 2013, he received "The Devant Award" from The Magic Circle, becoming its youngest recipient.

Life and career

Luis de Matos was born in 1970 in Maputo, Portuguese Mozambique. 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. At age 14, he moved to Coimbra to complete his technical studies, living with his cousins. He earned a bachelor's degree in agricultural technical engineering from Escola Superior Agrária de Coimbra, part of the Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra.
He had his first guest appearances on television in 1990. Two years later, he hosted his own television series entitled "Isto é Magia!". This was followed by several other TV magic shows.
In 1995, he predicted the winning numbers of Portugal national lottery one week in advance, leading to his rise in prominence. A journalist described him as going from being "the cute kid who does tricks" to being compared to David Copperfield in Portugal.
In the following years, he won several international prizes, such as "Magician of the Year" and the “Mandrake d’or”.
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 simultaneously. Then, he made all the 52,000 pieces of silk vanish, a trick that entered the Guinness Book of Records.
He has made appearances and starred as a regular in TV shows worldwide, like "Shalakabula" in Spain, BBC ”The Magicians”, and its latest Spanish version, “Por Arte de Magia”. He had a program for ten years on TVG.
In 2010, in collaboration with David Britland and Marco Tempest, Luis de Matos organized The Essential Magic Conference, which was the first online magic conference at the time. He created ESTÚDIO33 in Ansião, a TV studio, workshop, documentation center, and museum.
In 2013 Luis de Matos received his third award from the Hollywood Academy of Magical Arts, the “Special Fellowship Award."
He organizes the annual “Street Magic Festivals” in Portugal.

Television

  • 1990. First professional appearance on RTP1 Christmas Special as the ceremony's host.
  • 1991. Hosts a ten-minute spot on a morning show called 'Espaço Mágico' on RTP1.
  • 1992. Writes and hosts 'Isto é Magia' series on RTP1.
  • 1991. Participates as game show host on 'Caça ao Tesouro' for 96 episodes on RTP1.
  • 1992. Writes and hosts 'Isto é Magia' on RTP1.
  • 1994. Writes and hosts 'Noite Mágica' on RTP1.
  • 1994. Hosts live with Ana do Carmo Festival da Canção on RTP1.
  • 1995. Hosts a Portuguese talk show 'Domingo em Cheio!' on RTP1.
  • 1995. Participates on the 'Magiskt Show', Sweden; 'World's Greatest Magic', NBC; 'Champions of Magic', ABC.
  • 1996. Writes, produces and hosts 'Ilusões com Luis de Matos' on RTP1 with 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' on RTP1.
  • 2005. Hosts with Catarina Furtado, live on RTP1 the 'Gala Pirilampo Mágico'.
  • 2006. 'Luis de Matos 3D' on RTP1.
  • 2006. Participates regularly on the Spanish TV Show 'Shalakabula'.
  • 2006. Begins his weekly participation on Spanish TV Show 'Luar' on TVG, which is still ongoing.
  • 2008. Writes, produces and hosts 'Mistérios' on RTP1.
  • 2009. Participates in several international TV Shows: 'Surprise, Surprise' and 'Le Plus Grand Cabaret Du Monde'.
  • 2011. The Magicians, for BBC.
  • 2011. Participates on RTP1 live gala show "PORTUGAL APLAUDE" dedicated to arts.
  • 2012. This is Magic, 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" - first national tour, 45 cities, 245 shows took place in a special venue created and designed by Luis de Matos called “Teatro Móvel”.
  • 2001. "Utopia" - 12.000 spectators audience at Pavilhão Atlântico, Lisbon.
  • 2002. "Luis de Matos CLOSE-UP" - touring Portugal and Spain for seven years.
  • 2004. "Luis de Matos ENIGMA" - touring Portugal and Spain for five years.
  • 2012. "Luis de Matos CHAOS" - touring Portugal and Spain.
  • 2018-2019. "Luis de Matos IMPOSSÍVEL AO VIVO" - touring Portugal.
  • 2019-2020. "Luis de Matos IMPOSSÍVEL AO VIVO" - touring Portugal.
  • 2020-2021. "Luis de Matos CONECTADOS" - touring Portugal and Spain.
  • 2021. "Luis de Matos BACKSTAGE" - online.
The Illusionists 2.0
  • Adelaide, Australia
  • Sydney, Australia
  • Brisbane, Australia
  • Mexico City, Mexico
  • Auckland, New Zealand
  • Abu Dhabi, UAE
  • Dubai, UAE Dubai World Trade Center
  • Istanbul, Turkey
  • Melbourne, Australia
  • Perth, Australia
  • Bangkok, Thailand
  • Hong Kong, China
  • Singapore, Singapore
  • Paris, France
  • Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • Moscow, Russia
  • Berlin, Germany
  • Strasbourg, France
  • Lille, France
  • Antwerp, Belgium
  • Gent, Belgium
  • Lyon, France
  • Brussels, Belgium
  • Dublin, Belgium
  • Madrid, Spain
  • Paris, France
  • Prague, Czech Republic
  • Moscow, Russia
  • Minsk, Belarus
  • Kyiv, Ukraine
  • St, Petersburg, Russia
  • Marseille, France
  • Lille, France
  • Montecarlo, France
  • Lyon, France
  • Genève, Switzerland
  • Bordeaux, France
  • Toulouse, France

    Releases

Books

  • "O Mundo Mágico de Luis de Matos" | Publisher Gradiva | 1995 - Author.
  • "Hocus Pocus" by Paul Kieve | Publisher Dom Quixote | 2009 - Preface by Luis de Matos.
  • "Luis de Matos Livro dos Segredos" | Publisher Porto Editora | 2016 - Author - Preface by David Copperfield

    DVDs

  • "Luis de Matos HOME TOUR" | released and distributed by Jornal de Notícias | 2002 - Author; Producer.
  • "Enciclopédia Mágica" | released and distributed by Jornal de Notícias | 2003 - Author; Producer.
  • “Luis de Matos EXTREME Human Body Stunts for Professionals” | Essential Magic Collection | 2009 - Author; Producer.
  • "The Magic Square" | Essential Magic Collection | 2011 - Author; Producer.
  • "The Egg Bag" | Essential Magic Collection | 2013 - Author; Producer.
  • "The Floating Ball" | Essential Magic Collection | 2014 - Author; Producer.

    Magic Kits

  • "Luis de Matos MAGICUS" | Includes Original DVD | 2011 | Concentra.
  • "Isto é Magia!" | 2006 | Concentra.
  • "SCHHH... Isto é Segredo!" | Includes Original VHS | Frenesim.

    Awards

  • 1986 - "Best Newcomer" Award - "7th International Magic Festival" at Figueira da Foz
  • 1987 - Second Place in "Close-Up" - "1st Magic National Congress" at Figueira da Foz
  • 1989 - Winner in "Manipulation" at the "2nd Magic National Congress" at Figueira da Foz
  • 1995 - "Award of Merit" - Hollywood Academy of Magical Arts
  • 1996 - "Troféu Nova Gente" - People's Choice
  • 1998 - "The Merlin Award, Best Close-Up Magician” - International Magicians Society
  • 1999 - "Magician of the Year" - Hollywood Academy of Magical Arts
  • 1999 - “Mandrake d’Or” - French Academy of Illusionists
  • 2010 - "The Merlin Award, Magician Of The Decade" - International Magicians Society
  • 2013 - "Special Fellowship Award" - Hollywood Academy of Magical Arts
  • 2013 - "Magic Golden Grolla, Il grande rivoluzionario della magia” -
  • 2013 - Luis de Matos was awarded with The Golden Medal of the City of Coimbra
  • 2013 - "The Devant Award" - The Magic Circle
  • 2014 - Luis de Matos was awarded "Comendador da Ordem do Infante D. Henrique" - Presidency of the Portuguese Republic