Profesor Alba: Spain's Master Hypnotist and Mentalist

Profesor Alba (Manolo Alba, 1894–1950) was a magician, hypnotist, and psychic entertainer from Spain who toured mainly in Europe during the 1930s. He performed "thought experiments" and demonstrations of psychic powers.

Billed as the "Dominador de la Voluntad" — the Dominator of Will — Alba's act combined hypnotism, mentalism, and theatrical showmanship in a way that captivated audiences across Spain and throughout Europe. His striking Art Deco poster, featuring his intense gaze, became one of the most recognizable images of the European mentalism scene.

A Family Legacy

When he died in 1950, his son took over the successful show and toured with it until his death seventeen years later. The younger Alba took the show one step further, featuring a female mentalist named "Yu-Li-San, the Enigmatic Medium" — adding a new dimension of mystery to the act that had already captivated European audiences for decades.

The Alba family's multi-generational commitment to the art of mentalism represents one of the longest-running family traditions in psychic entertainment — a legacy that spanned from the golden age of European variety theater through the mid-twentieth century.

The Profesor Alba poster hangs on the walls of the Marrakech Magic Theater — a reminder of the long European tradition of mentalism and psychic entertainment that continues in our show today.