XCEMER: DLSU’s Own David Blaine

By Tricia Cacho

Beat: People
Category: Unpublished
Type: Feature Article

“The magician and the politician have much in common: they both have to draw our attention away from what they are really doing.” – Ben Okri

When people say the word “magician,” what comes into mind first? Clowns and performers that can be found at the fair are the usual answers. But who knew that you could find one of them inside your own university campus?

Emerson Ong, a.k.a. XCEMER, is a professional magician at the age of 18 and currently studying at De La Salle University-Manila taking up Computer Programming Engineering. He performs for several school events, namely for ENGLICOM, a Chinese-Filipino organization, and events outside the campus as well. What’s fascinating about this guy is that he started his passion for magic at an early age—9 years old—in which he traded his toy robots for magic paraphernalia.

This guy loves performing card magic tricks to his audience. Not only it is handy for on-the-spot performances, but also with this kind of magic he could perform a lot of tricks. He does close-up magic, or one-on-one magic, wherein he would roam around in every table at the venue of the event and entertain every guest. He also does stage performances, which last 20 minutes to an hour—depending if he’s the main act, or not.

“My family’s very supportive of my passion,” Emerson says. When he was a kid, at around 9 years old, his parents bought him equipment for magicians when they found out Emerson’s fascination for magic. Ever since then, his talent in magic improved and he was invited in small events and gatherings and it slowly evolved to bigger occasions.

When asked about the challenges he encounters as a young magician, he says, “People usually think that magic is Satanic, which is not true. Magic is about deceiving, and not using ghosts for the act.” But his age also has its perks. He easily gets opportunities to perform because a lot of his friends and acquaintances in school refer him.

“If you have the passion, its easy to start,” he says to the aspiring magicians. “And don’t let your age stop you from doing it.”