Joaquín Argamasilla
Joaquín Argamasilla | |
|---|---|
 Argamasilla (right) with Harry Houdini in 1924 | |
| Born | Joaquín María Argamasilla de la Cerda y Elío 4 April 1905 Madrid, Spain |
| Died | 27 May 1987 (aged 82) Bilbao, Spain |
Joaquín María Argamasilla de la Cerda y Elío (4 April 1905 – 27 May 1987) was a Spanish noble who was the 11th Marquess de Santacara, but he is better known for claiming in the early 1920s a supposed ability to see through opaque objects. Argamasilla convinced important people of the era such as Gustav Geley and Charles Richet of his powers,[1] but he was exposed by Harry Houdini as a fraud in 1924.[2]
Biography
[edit]Joaquín Argamasilla was encouraged in his parapsychology career by his father, the Marquis de Santa Cara, who was convinced that his son had psychic powers. Argamasilla was promoted as having X-ray vision that could penetrate metal.[3]: 132 For example, he was seemingly able to read the time on a watch through a case.[3]: 132 Among the audience of these shows was the Spanish writer Valle-Inclan, who was a friend of the father of the psychic and became convinced that Joaquín's powers were real.[4]
Argamasilla's fame led him in 1924 to the Pennsylvania Hotel in New York City. There he met magician Harry Houdini, who became convinced that he was a fraud who just peeked through his simple blindfold and lifted up the edge of the box so he could look inside it without others noticing.[3]: 134 Argamasilla could not replicate his abilities when forced to do the same with a box not owned by him.[5] Houdini regarded Argamasilla to be "a very clever manipulator" who "acts his part in such as manner as to insure misdirection".[3]: 135
Argamasilla never did another psychic demonstration. He later was assigned the position of general director of Film and Theatre (1952-1955).[6]
Argamasilla died on 27 May 1987 in Bilbao, Spain at the age of 82.[7]
In fiction
[edit]A fictional version of Argamasilla (in which his powers turn out to be real) appears in the 14th episode of the Spanish science-fiction series El Ministerio del Tiempo.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ Polidoro, Massimo (2001). Final Séance: The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. pp. 171–172. ISBN 1-57392-896-8.
- ^ Nickell, Joe (2007). Adventures in Paranormal Investigation. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky. pp. 213–215. ISBN 978-0-8131-2467-4.
- ^ a b c d Randi, James (1982). The truth about Uri Geller. Internet Archive. Buffalo, N.Y. : Prometheus Books. ISBN 978-0-87975-199-9.
- ^ Valle-Inclán, Harry Houdini y el hombre que tenía rayos X en los ojos in ramonmayrata.com
- ^ El español con Raxos X que desafió a Houdini en abc.es
- ^ El español con visión de rayos X in magonia.es
- ^ "ABC MADRID 27-05-1987 página 105 - Archivo ABC". abc. 2019-08-20 [1987-05-27]. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
- ^ "'El Ministerio del Tiempo' viaja al Nueva York de Houdini en 'Tiempo de magia'". RTVE. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
Further reading
[edit]- Harry Houdini. (1924). A Complete Exposure of Argamasilla, the Famous Spaniard who Baffled Noted Scientists of Europe and America, with His Claim to X-ray Vision. Adams Press.
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