This soprano learned ventriloquism in confinement. He ended up performing in Las Vegas without using dolls
When ventriloquist Señor Wences became one of the most famous Spaniards on American television with his appearances on the legendary ‘Ed Sullivan Show’, ventriloquism was an art form typical of a variety show. The most unexpected heir to her talent is Celia Muñoz, who not only continues the tradition of talking dolls, but is connecting ventriloquism with opera thanks to her experience as a lyric soprano. And it’s taking Las Vegas by storm. Wences, the teacher. The Spanish ventriloquism tradition is unusually powerful for a country our size. We have the very media-savvy José Luis Moreno (nephew of Mr. Wences himself) and the legendary Mari Carmen and her dolls, yes, but also legends today unjustly half-forgotten like Paco Sanz or Herta Frankel and her dog Marilyn. None achieved as much international significance as Mr. Wences. This man from Salamanca emigrated in 1934 to South America and from there to New York, where his appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, on Broadway and on the music circuit music hall They made him one of the best-known Spaniards to Americans. His technique was minimalist to the point of absurdity: his character Johnny was his clenched fist with lipstick and a blonde wig; and his Peter was a stuffed head in a box. Wences died in New York in 1999, aged 103. For decades, no other Spanish ventriloquist had managed to penetrate the American circuit with that reach. Until today. A soprano with a foreign voice. Celia Muñoz had no relationship with ventriloquism until 2020. Trained as a lyrical singer at the Madrid Conservatory and the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, she had worked on international operatic projects in Finland, Berlin, Avignon or New York. There, watching ‘America’s Got Talent’ discovered two ventriloquists spectacular: Darci Lynnewinner in 2017, and Terry Fatorwinner in 2007. He became interested in the discipline and, dedicating himself to the subject almost obsessively, he received training from Gary Owen, Darci Lynne’s own coach. To succeed. The result of this accelerated learning could be seen in 2021. In the semifinals of ‘Got Talent Spain’, Muñoz sang opera with her mouth closed in a ventriloquism number without a dummy that won the Unanimous Golden Pass from the jury, and in the grand final she won, becoming the first ventriloquist to win the format in Spain. Muñoz herself planted her victory in that historical lineage, mentioning historical figures such as Paco Sanz and Señor Wences. The international leap. In season 17 of America’s Got Talent, in 2022, Muñoz finished in third place, was beaten by Sofia Vergara and reached the final, where she performed one of her most famous numbers, combining magic and ventriloquism to recreate the spirit of soprano Maria Callas, earning a unanimous ovation from the jury. Thus he made it clear what his indisputable strong point was: the absence of dolls. On ‘AGT Superstars Live’, the permanent show at the Luxor in Las Vegas that brings together the show’s best performances, she was introduced as “the ventriloquist without dummies, making everything around her talk.” Its most notable technical peculiarity is, in addition to projecting different voices onto everyday objects such as a telephone, a radio or a glass of water, doing so while performing actions that seem incompatible with speech, such as eating, drinking or brushing one’s teeth. To Las Vegas. In December 2022, Muñoz joined the cast America’s Got Talent Presents Superstars Live at the Luxor Theater in Las Vegas, where the greats of American variety entertainment have performed for decades. For a year he headlined the show, performing five nights a week. The similarity with Señor Wences’ trajectory is notable, although Muñoz has done it much faster thanks to the immediate popularity of the Internet: in just three years and starting from scratch in the profession: the virality of a semifinal in a talent show can generate more audiences than years on the road. Next up: symphonic ventriloquism. If the American stage consolidated his career, one of the latest projects he has developed points to something more ambitious in artistic terms. Symphonic Ventriloquism with Celia Muñoz It is a show “where classical music and visual comedy meet the art of ventriloquism”, according to the description of the Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra, with whom it premiered last November 2025. Here the orchestra becomes a narrative thread for a story in which different characters and voices emerge, all articulated by Muñoz without opening his mouth. It is not very clear what the future of ventriloquism is, especially with artists like Celia Muñoz opening paths like this. What is clear is that the wooden doll is definitely no longer essential. In Xataka | For years, I have followed a daily practice to improve my memory, attention and public speaking: doing magic
