If
they had Awards for builders of magical illusions, Julio's fireplace mantel
(do they even have fire places in
Brazil
?) would be chockfull of trophies. He has consistently been able to
take mind-blowing effects limited only to larger stages, and makes
them lightweight and portable -- all the while NOT sacrificing visual
impact, believability and quality.
 |
| Lipan Jr., Mark
Stevens and Clovis Tavares |
Lipan Jr., said it best when he stated, "Everyone
loves my father." This is so true - you can't help but
to love this guy because he is totally sincere, with a great heart and love
for magic.
|
|
|
Natalie, Julio and Sylvia Lipan
- My Hosts! |
Lipan
Jr., (Sebastian) picked me up at G.R.U., International airport. My flight
from
Miami
to
Sao Paulo
took about 8 hours, and I arrived at 8:02 am October 28th. While I
assumed that
Sao Paulo
was a big city, I had no idea just how big it was - it's huge.
For miles and miles the city continues and never seems to stop.
It was about 80 minutes from the airport to
Alphaville
,
Brazil
(which is an upscale suburb of
Sao Paulo).
|
|
|
My friend, Julio Lipan and Mark
Stevens |
While the facilities where not located in one venue, the good
news is they were all very close to the hotel. The hotel was first class -
each room was a suite.
The convention was held in a brand new facility in
Barueri
,
Brazil
(only about 2 miles away from the convention hotel). There were about 12
dealers from around the world that set up in the large general room and on each
side east and west, there were great lecture rooms, each one of which seated up
to 400 people. Thus, the lectures and competitions were held in this
wonderful facility that featured rowed elevated/tiered comfortable
seating. There was nothing basic about this facility at all it was a first
class venue well chosen and scouted by the Directors of the Congresso.
In terms of floor plan, venue capability and ease of direction and flow, it
couldn't have been engineered any better.
 |
| Sergio Fiore and
Mark Stevens |
|
