Ramón Riobóo (1936-2021)

Ramón Riobóo passed away silently and unexpectedly at his Madrid home on March 9.

After a career editing, writing and directing shows for Spanish TV, he retired and devoted the rest of his life almost entirely to card magic.

His card magic generally combined clever mathematical principles with occasional direct moves and devious thinking, and many of his tricks have fooled some of the most knowledgeable magicians. He contributed some of his material to books by Juan Tamariz and Steve Beam.

Luckily, Stephen Minch met him soon enough to publish English translations of his two great books on card magic: Thinking The Impossible and Second Thoughts.

He was an enthusiastic member of the Madrid SEI Circle and showed his latest creations every Monday before the club meetings, where people always gathered around him at a table. Ramón had countless friends in Spain and around the world, including well-known expert magicians as well as newcomers, and he was very generous sharing his knowledge with fellow magicians.

He was a former president of the Madrid SEI Circle and a longtime member of SEI, IBM, Escuela Mágica de Madrid, and CIP. His glowing presence will be truly missed in Spanish gatherings and conventions. He never missed the Escorial card gathering, and also attended several FISM conventions, FFFF, an exclusive card gathering Bill Kalush put together in St. Louis, and a great number of Spanish conventions. He also performed at the Magic Castle’s Close-Up Gallery during the Spanish Week that was held in 2005.

The lobby of the Madrid SEI circle will be named after him. And he was a really sweet guy.

… Rafael Benatar