A rabbit wasn’t pulled out of a hat, but The Great Jonathan did make a bunny appear out of thin air. Last Wednesday, audience members were stunned into silence when the renowned magician made his debut appearance at the Gilroy library to celebrate the close of the Summer Reading Challenge.
“We signed him up very early to do our grand finale program,” said Sharon Kelly, supervising librarian. “He’s world famous.”
Back in the early 1970s, John “The Great Jonathan” Vasquez met his wife, Teddy, who is also his assistant in the magic show, in high school, and the two began a life of challenges and discoveries.
John Vasquez was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease in 1977, and during his recovery period in the hospital he discovered a book about card tricks and began entertaining nurses and staff members. This led him to seek a mentorship with a former professional magician, The Great Ricardo, whom he met through a friend. Soon after, John Vasquez began performing on the weekends for friends and family.
Eleven years ago he retired from his full-time job and took up magic as his career. Now he and his wife travel from their home in Visalia to Gilroy and points in between performing for audiences, and they couldn’t be happier.
“We get to travel, we get to meet new people,” Teddy Vasquez said. “I just love the kids’ faces.”
And the kids love The Great Jonathan.
Lisa Wu of San Jose brought her son Caiden Li, 3, to see the show.
“Caiden loved it,” Wu said. “I’m surprised that he sat down that long to watch a show. I’m very shocked. As a mom, I’ve never seen that.”
Adults were equally amused by the performance. Jesse Torralba, who recently moved to Gilroy, attended the show with his niece Ann Marie, 4. Not long into the program, Torralba became part of the show when The Great Jonathan requested his help with a magic trick.
“It was really fantastic; it was my first magic show ever,” Torralba said. “I was as amazed as all the kids were. It felt like I was a kid all over again.”
The Vasquezes began performing in libraries over three years ago when they first auditioned in San Jose at a library conference. After the audition, they received 25 bookings. Vasquez says a good average for them is three shows per week, although the couple has performed up to 18 shows in the same time frame.
Their introduction to the Gilroy library was a memorable one for the couple. “We had an awesome time, and the kids were great,” Vasquez said. “All the faculty was great. Everyone was very, very nice to us.”
Kelly plans to invite The Great Jonathan back to perform at the library in the future.
Morgan Hill library Zumba class grows in popularity
Thanks to the Columbian dancer and choreographer Alberto “Beto” Perez, millions of people around the world discovered rhythmical Latin based music was a great accompaniment for exercise workouts.
A combination of dance and aerobic exercise, Zumba involves choreographed movements combined with aspects of hip-hop, samba, salsa, merengue and mambo.
The Morgan Hill Library is well aware of the popularity of this unique workout routine, because the weekly free Zumba classes on Monday evenings are always packed.
“It’s a popular program…it’s an opportunity for people in this neighborhood to walk somewhere and get access to an exercise program,” said Librarian Jeff Grubb, who would like patrons to think of the library as a vital community resource, as well as a place to hang out and have fun.
San Martin resident Ursula Muro, a class participant for the past three years, agrees with Grubb.
“It’s just a really nice way to exercise and spend an hour,” she said.
Instructor Revathi Mani, who subs once a month for full-time instructor Chiquy Meyj, has been involved in the program for the past two years.
“It is a very popular class,” Mani said. “It’s great for people who come in with kids because the kids can entertain themselves and the parents can get their workout for the day. It’s wonderful because its something you
can’t quantify.”
For more information about ongoing events at the Gilroy and Morgan Hill libraries, go to sccl.org/morganhill or sccl.org/gilroy.
