DR talk show host sets magician's head on fire

Trainman33

Bronze
Dec 11, 2009
1,146
56
48
[video=youtube;UJXqZQgB1U8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=UJXqZQgB1U8[/video]
 

Trainman33

Bronze
Dec 11, 2009
1,146
56
48
Magic star Wayne Houchin is recovering after a
Dominican Republic TV host threw flaming Aqua de Florida cologne in his
face. Houchin suffered burns on his head, face, neck, and hand. “This
was not a stunt or part of an act,” Houchin said on his Facebook page.
“This was a criminal attack.”
Aqua de Florida is used by shamans in healing and cleansing rituals.
In this part of the world, for many people, witches and witchdoctors are
very real. Just two years ago in neighboring Haiti, around a dozen
suspected witches were hacked to death by machetes and stoned in the
streets. So it’s possible that the Approach the Stars TV host
thought he was doing a good thing in burning Houchin. That would explain
the statement released on the show’s Facebook page in which the attack
was described as a “blessing.” Magicians David Copperfield and Lance Burton have taken to Twitter to wish Houchin well. Theory11.com magic producer Jonathan Bayme, who has worked with Houchin in the past, had this to say:
“Wayne is a hugely respected creator and performer of magic, and an
inspiration to thousands of young magicians around the world. The
incident this week was shocking, and the magic community was quick to
respond with widespread support for Wayne. Magicians around the world
were outraged by what occurred and are still in disbelief that something
like this could happen.”
 
Dec 26, 2011
8,071
0
0
Did a TV show host set a magician on fire because he thought he was a witch-doctor?

Shocking footage has emerged on YouTube of a magician being attacked and badly injured by the host of a TV show on which he was a guest. In an apparently spontaneous gesture, the man (who has been named as Franklin Barazarte) who is both host and producer of a talk-show in the Dominican Republic, doused 29-year old Wayne Houchin with a flammable liquid and set it on fire. Reports suggest that Barazarte may have been intending to perform a "blessing" on the Las Vegas-based magician: the substance used, Agua de Florida, is a type of cologne but is marketed as being used by South American shamans for healing and cleansing rituals. Houchin sustained serious burns on his head, face, neck and hand.
At first there were fears that Houchin's injuries might prove disfiguring or even life-threatening. The quick intervention of his own team may have saved him. Happily a few hours later he was feeling well enough to update Twitter followers from his hospital bed. The doctors, he said, were "cautiously optimistic" that he would fully recover with no scars, but he would be extending his stay in the country while he underwent further treatment. He thanked well-wishers for their "humbling and overwhelming" support and described the Dominican Republic as a "beautiful country full of beautiful people."
He was also able to confirm that the attack on him, which he described as "criminal" and "intentional", was not part of a stunt and that he was unaware of what was going to happen. So what provoked it? The Las Vegas Weekly connected it with a culture in which, "for many people, witches and witchdoctors are very real". Their report notes that two years ago in neighboring Haiti, "around a dozen suspected witches were hacked to death by machetes and stoned in the streets. So it’s possible that the TV host thought he was doing a good thing in burning Houchin."
But Houchin has never posed as a witch or witchdoctor. Like many magicians, he sometimes uses his knowledge of trickery to expose claims of psychic or miraculous powers, and he's currently associated with a Discovery Channel show Breaking Magic which reveals some of the secrets of the conjurer's art. Even more strangely, the programme he was appearing on is described in some accounts as one specialising in astrology and other "psychic" matters. There are also suggestions that another guest on the show, who normally hosts a different programme, described the attack as "divine justice" for the sorcery supposedly practised by Houchin and his colleagues, but there's no confirmation of that. Nor is there any word on the fate of the attacker, or whether there are questions about his mental state.
We shouldn't jump to any conclusions about this one incident, although it if *was* an attempted exorcism, it would not be unique in involving violent and dangerous practices. To take two examples from different parts of the world, in 2007 a Romanian priest was jailed for 14 years for conducting an exorcism that led to the death of a nun, while in Japan last year a 13-year-old girl suffocated after being strapped down and doused with water by her father and a Buddhist monk who were trying to expel an "evil spirit".
In both those cases, the exorcists were presumably trying to help their unfortunate victims. The attack on Wayne Houchin doesn't appear to have had such a benign motivation, although it's possible that the attacker was unaware that the liquid would cause severe burns when ignited. Not all flammable substances do, of course, which is why fire-eating is a performance art rather than a method of suicide. But whether it was a terrible accident, a cultural misunderstanding or (most likely, perhaps) was a random act of insanity it does demonstrate the danger inherent in hand-wavy religion.
 

Mariot

New member
Oct 13, 2009
276
30
0
Did a TV show host set a magician on fire because he thought he was a witch-doctor?

Shocking footage has emerged on YouTube of a magician being attacked and badly injured by the host of a TV show on which he was a guest. In an apparently spontaneous gesture, the man (who has been named as Franklin Barazarte) who is both host and producer of a talk-show in the Dominican Republic, doused 29-year old Wayne Houchin with a flammable liquid and set it on fire. Reports suggest that Barazarte may have been intending to perform a "blessing" on the Las Vegas-based magician: the substance used, Agua de Florida, is a type of cologne but is marketed as being used by South American shamans for healing and cleansing rituals. Houchin sustained serious burns on his head, face, neck and hand.
At first there were fears that Houchin's injuries might prove disfiguring or even life-threatening. The quick intervention of his own team may have saved him. Happily a few hours later he was feeling well enough to update Twitter followers from his hospital bed. The doctors, he said, were "cautiously optimistic" that he would fully recover with no scars, but he would be extending his stay in the country while he underwent further treatment. He thanked well-wishers for their "humbling and overwhelming" support and described the Dominican Republic as a "beautiful country full of beautiful people."
He was also able to confirm that the attack on him, which he described as "criminal" and "intentional", was not part of a stunt and that he was unaware of what was going to happen. So what provoked it? The Las Vegas Weekly connected it with a culture in which, "for many people, witches and witchdoctors are very real". Their report notes that two years ago in neighboring Haiti, "around a dozen suspected witches were hacked to death by machetes and stoned in the streets. So it?s possible that the TV host thought he was doing a good thing in burning Houchin."
But Houchin has never posed as a witch or witchdoctor. Like many magicians, he sometimes uses his knowledge of trickery to expose claims of psychic or miraculous powers, and he's currently associated with a Discovery Channel show Breaking Magic which reveals some of the secrets of the conjurer's art. Even more strangely, the programme he was appearing on is described in some accounts as one specialising in astrology and other "psychic" matters. There are also suggestions that another guest on the show, who normally hosts a different programme, described the attack as "divine justice" for the sorcery supposedly practised by Houchin and his colleagues, but there's no confirmation of that. Nor is there any word on the fate of the attacker, or whether there are questions about his mental state.
We shouldn't jump to any conclusions about this one incident, although it if *was* an attempted exorcism, it would not be unique in involving violent and dangerous practices. To take two examples from different parts of the world, in 2007 a Romanian priest was jailed for 14 years for conducting an exorcism that led to the death of a nun, while in Japan last year a 13-year-old girl suffocated after being strapped down and doused with water by her father and a Buddhist monk who were trying to expel an "evil spirit".
In both those cases, the exorcists were presumably trying to help their unfortunate victims. The attack on Wayne Houchin doesn't appear to have had such a benign motivation, although it's possible that the attacker was unaware that the liquid would cause severe burns when ignited. Not all flammable substances do, of course, which is why fire-eating is a performance art rather than a method of suicide. But whether it was a terrible accident, a cultural misunderstanding or (most likely, perhaps) was a random act of insanity it does demonstrate the danger inherent in hand-wavy religion.

I don't know how these "blessings" normally work, but from the video it appears as if he did not intend to burn him. He says something along the lines of "he got nervous" (who wouldn't when your head is up in flames), so what he did was probably ill advised but not necessarily malicious.
 
Dec 26, 2011
8,071
0
0
I don't know how these "blessings" normally work, but from the video it appears as if he did not intend to burn him. He says something along the lines of "he got nervous" (who wouldn't when your head is up in flames), so what he did was probably ill advised but not necessarily malicious.

Huh? How about extremely ignorant?
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
5,966
113
images
 

Mariot

New member
Oct 13, 2009
276
30
0
Huh? How about extremely ignorant?

very much so. still, the article paints a picture of someone who deliberately tried to hurt that guy for being an evil witch. judging from the video, that is not what happened.
 
Dec 26, 2011
8,071
0
0
very much so. still, the article paints a picture of someone who deliberately tried to hurt that guy for being an evil witch. judging from the video, that is not what happened.

What was the host's intent? To "bless" the "sorcery" out of a secularist magician, by means of "sorcery".

But Houchin has never posed as a witch or witchdoctor. Like many magicians, he sometimes uses his knowledge of trickery to expose claims of psychic or miraculous powers, and he's currently associated with a Discovery Channel show Breaking Magic which reveals some of the secrets of the conjurer's art. Even more strangely, the programme he was appearing on is described in some accounts as one specialising in astrology and other "psychic" matters. There are also suggestions that another guest on the show, who normally hosts a different programme, described the attack as "divine justice" for the sorcery supposedly practised by Houchin and his colleagues, but there's no confirmation of that. Nor is there any word on the fate of the attacker, or whether there are questions about his mental state.

Sorry, but "I didn't really mean to set you on fire when I attempted to save you from El Demonio" sounds weak.
 

Mariot

New member
Oct 13, 2009
276
30
0
What was the host's intent? To "bless" the "sorcery" out of a secularist magician, by means of "sorcery".

to me it looks as if he just wanted to show him some dominican "magic" and it went wrong because a) he probably didn't know what he was doing and b) the guy got nervous. where do you guys get the he wanted to exorcise him bit from, there is no indication of that in the video.
 
Dec 26, 2011
8,071
0
0
to me it looks as if he just wanted to show him some dominican "magic" and it went wrong because a) he probably didn't know what he was doing and b) the guy got nervous. where do you guys get the he wanted to exorcise him bit from, there is no indication of that in the video.

From Trainman33's article:

Aqua de Florida is used by shamans in healing and cleansing rituals.
In this part of the world, for many people, witches and witchdoctors are
very real. Just two years ago in neighboring Haiti, around a dozen
suspected witches were hacked to death by machetes and stoned in the
streets. So it’s possible that the Approach the Stars TV host
thought he was doing a good thing in burning Houchin. That would explain
the statement released on the show’s Facebook page in which the attack
was described as a “blessing.”

From the NewStatesman article:

Reports suggest that Barazarte may have been intending to perform a "blessing" on the Las Vegas-based magician: the substance used, Agua de Florida, is a type of cologne but is marketed as being used by South American shamans for healing and cleansing rituals....He was also able to confirm that the attack on him, which he described as "criminal" and "intentional", was not part of a stunt and that he was unaware of what was going to happen. So what provoked it? The Las Vegas Weekly connected it with a culture in which, "for many people, witches and witchdoctors are very real"....There are also suggestions that another guest on the show, who normally hosts a different programme, described the attack as "divine justice" for the sorcery supposedly practised by Houchin and his colleagues, but there's no confirmation of that.

What's Dominican "magic"?
 

Lucifer

Silver
Jun 26, 2012
4,810
754
113
Agua de Florida de Murray & Lanman - some Dominicans don't leave home without it!
 

Chip

Platinum
Jul 25, 2007
16,772
429
0
Santiago
There are a few other things that are suspicious such as I can't find any news of this in the Listin Diario nor Diario Libre. Also, the magicians 2012 schedule claims from the date of the show to the end of the year as being private.
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
5,966
113
MURRAY & LANMAN'S FLORIDA WATER great for everything from Exorcisms to Enemas

A cologne used in South America by shamans for cleansing, healing, ritual feeding and flowering. Offered in large 270 ml bottles.

Components of the scent include citrus and herbal notes along with spice and floral undertones. These delightful elements are provided by Bergamot, Neroli, Lemon, Cloves, Cinnamon, Lavender, Rose and Orange flower. When the fragrance is first applied the delicious citrus notes are most dominant, then the Cloves move to the front and the scent settles into an incredibly appealing dry spice.
Traditional Uses:
For more than a century MURRAY & LANMAN'S FLORIDA WATER has been famous throughout the world - not for one purpose alone, but for a score of everyday needs. Moderately priced itself, MURRAY & LANMAN'S FLORIDA WATER saves you the cost of many more expensive preparations. Read the suggestions below...and note how useful and economical MURRAY & LANMAN'S FLORIDA WATER can be.



  • Added to the Bath or wash-basin, Murray & Lanman's Florida Water is delightfully refreshing and leaves the skin delicately fragrant. After the Shower it provides an exhilarating rubdown, giving a delightful glow to the skin, toning muscles and nerves.
  • As an Astringent and Skin Lotion, Murray & Lanman's Florida Water acts with pleasing effect. It contracts the pores, tones-up the skin, leaving it with a feeling of freshness.
  • As a Personal Deodorant, Murray & Lanman's Florida Water is indispensable to the fastidious woman. Its faint and elusive, yet delightful scent, makes it invaluable for this purpose.
  • As a Sickroom Deodorant, a few drops sprinkled around the room perfumes the air and overcomes sickroom odors.
  • As a Rubdown for the Sick, Murray & Lanman's Florida Water has a beneficial, stimulating effect. Many find it more pleasant and helpful than an alcohol rub.
  • Before Shaving, Murray & Lanman's Florida Water softens the toughest beard and prepares the skin for a smooth, luxurious shave.
  • After Shaving, it contracts the pores, Its mildly astringent action soothes and heals skin abrasions caused by shaving.
  • For Insect bites, an application of Murray & Lanman's Florida Water on the infected part usually proves helpful.
  • In Hot Weather, a feeling of agreeable coolness is quickly induced by applying Murray & Lanman's Florida Water to the brow. Use as directed in bath and after shave.
  • As a Perfume, there is no more delightful scent than Murray & Lanman's Florida Water. Unobtrusive and remindful of a flower-garden, it can be used in an atomizer, on the handkerchief, or on the person.
  • After Exercise, a rubdown with Murray & Lanman's Florida Water produces a warm tingling glow - delightful and invigorating - zestful to the muscles, restful to the nerves.
  • For Jangled Nerves, produced by excitement or shock, Murray & Lanman's Florida Water applied to the forehead and used as a rubdown, usually relieves nervous tension and relaxes the muscles.
  • To the Hair a sprinkling of Murray & Lanman's Florida Water gives an enchanting fragrance appropriate to the party or dance. It soothes itching scalp. For Boudoir Daintiness, a few drops sprinkled in your lingerie drawer, handkerchief-box and clothes closets is lovely and lasting.
  • To Freshen Rooms that have been newly dusted, to overcome smoke-stuffiness, kitchen odors and the smell of new paint, sweeten the air with a sprinkling of Murray & Lanman's Florida Water.
  • Head Colds will be less annoying if a little Murray & Lanman's Florida Water is sprinkled on a handkerchief and the aroma frequently inhaled.
  • For Tired, Burning Feet, bathe in warm water to which Murray & Lanman's Florida Water has been added. The soothing, refreshing effect is most gratifying.
  • For Complexion Care, never fail to massage the skin with Murray & Lanman's Florida Water after removing make-up, especially before retiring.
  • It doesn't actually say it is good for enemas, I was joking about that.
 

Lucifer

Silver
Jun 26, 2012
4,810
754
113
I haven't thought about Agua de Florida since the day I left home. I was 18 the day I left, and my parents gave me a bottle to use on my aching leg.

Agua de Florida ranks up there with Old Spice cologne, perfume de vieja rezadoras, Pete Rose Aqua Velva commercials, and the Dry Look hair spray, which is still favored by former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson and DR1's own cobraboy, the smartest guy in the room.