BJ Bueno

At 5-years-old I saw a magician in the Dominican Republic take a chicken and make his head vanish. Then it would appear in his pocket. You would see the chicken head poke out and do a little squawk, then vanish again and appear back on the chicken's body. It was some trippy stuff. I later moved to Peru where, in the high altitudes, I learned to tear and restore a newspaper. I always wondered then, how could that street magician vanish that chicken's head?

My family moved to Bolivia where I discovered that if you move your TV antenna just right the magic of Xuxa would come in (this is when I learned Portuguese). She is still the most magical magician I have ever seen, besides the guy that could make the chicken's head disappear.

Years later, I was walking down an old street in Key West where, at in an antique shop, I purchased a coin trick for five dollars, with the initials PG written on it. I later learned about [PG's] crazy adventures, and his wonderful inventions became magic in my hands. I was able to destroy my friends in the Miami Correctional Facility (also known as Miami Lakes Middle School). Here, I discovered the importance of misdirecting my teachers and creating my own ideas about performing magic for my friends, but mostly hostile Miami kids.

Many years later for my high school talent show, I vanished a chicken's head and had it appear on top of a dancing hank.