Household saints

Inauguration day of the statue of El Santo in Mexico City, below in a mask like his father, El Hijo de El Santo

Visit David Lida’s post on El Santo:  David Lida » Blog Archive » Household saint.

The sculpture of El Santo, El Emascarado de Plata (The Silver Masked Saint):

The plaza, garden and statue, inaugurated in June 2006, is between the streets Jesus Carranza and Gorostiza in Colonia Peralvillo, Cuauhtémoc, the Barrio Bravo de Tepito in Mexico City.  The sculpture, 3.65 meters tall and weighing 1.5 tons, was created by Edwin Jorge Barrera García, a sculptor and fireman.  The wrestler’s son, who wrestles as El Hijo de El Santo, financed the project.

The unveiling was presided by politicians, son of Rodolfo Guzmán, a.k.a. The Saint, actors and the President of the Lucha Libre Comission of the time.  The wrestler’s son, like his father, wore his mask and did not reveal his identity.  Others attending included sports commentators, retired wrestlers Baby Richard, Pompín y Many Guzmán, legendary masters of the “lucha” like El Perro Aguayo, Ringo Mendoza and Mil Máscaras, and wrestlers Huracán Ramírez Junior, Scorpio, Greco, Charles Bronson, Rebelde Rojo, Blue Panther, Cerebro Negro, Villanos III, IV and V, Dr. Cerebro, Jaque Mate Jr., Solar, Fantasma y Tinieblas, Blue Demon, Jr.  At the event they signed autographs and posed for the camera’s of hundreds of Mexican Lucha Libre fans.

Heroes die but legends continue…I leave the Saint in your care. – El Hijo de El Santo (The Saint’s son) on the day of the innauguration

Information about El Santo released at the event:

Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta was born September 23, 1917 in Tulacingo, Hidalgo.  He began wrestling in lucha libre in 1925 as Rudy Guzmán, Hombre Rojo/Red man, and the Murciélago II/Bat II.  It wasn’t until June 26, 1962 that the referee Jesús Lomelín baptised him as El Santo, the name that immortalized his career.  He was national Welterweight and Middleweight champion in 1943, Welterweight world champion in 1946, Middleweight champion and Cruiserweight (97 kg./210 lbs.) national champion in 1952.  The Saint starred in 58 films, including The Saint and Blue Demon against Dr. Frankenstein, The Saint vs. the Wolves, The Mummies of Guanajuato, The Saint against the Vampire Women and The Saint against the Zombies among others.  He died February 5, 1984.

There is another statue of El Santo in Tulancingo, Hidalgo, birthplace of the wrestler.

Sacred Brew: Cervecería Sagrada – José Guízar

Lucha Libre design by José Guízar

The Cerveceria Sagrada combines the full flavors of Mexican craft beer with a design aesthetic inspired by Lucho Libre, Mexico’s professional wrestling known for its elaborate masks, ‘high-flying’ moves, and general kitschy-ness.

Designer Guízar created labels inspired by the masks of some of the most famous luchadores ever to grace the wrestling ring: Rey Negro (the Black King), Güero Gomez (Blond Gomez), and El Hijo del Vampiro (the Vampire’s Son).

…the golden era of lucha in the 1950′s, when movie heroes were not Superman or the X Men, but El Santo and his wingmen, fighting creepy monsters on a silver ’52 Alfa Romeo with surf music in the background. – José Guízar

Cervecería Sagrada – José Guízar.

Lucha Libre: Books, Comics and Graphic Novels

Due to the tremendous fan base of Lucha Libre throughout the world, there are many books, comics and graphic novels in English on the market worthy of note.

•   Lucha Loco, by Malcolm Venville.  A stunning collection of portraits of luchadores.  The portraits, in large format film and shot in a Mexico City Studio, are reproduced in stunning color.  Each portrait is clearly identified and paired with a quotation from the wrestler.  CHECK THIS OUT:  Online interviews, quotes and photos at Welcome to Lucha Loco.

   

• Lucha Libre, Masked Superstars of Mexican Wrestling, by Carlos Monsivais and Lourdes Grobet (Photographer).  The result of a 20-year study, the book features over 500 photos of luchadores, as well as pictures of their families, friends and fans, onstage, backstage and even at home.  It includes interviews and essays, images of lucha promotions: stickers, flyers, postcards, and stills from cinema.
• For children of all ages:  Lucha Libre:  The Man in the Silver Mask: A Bilingual Cuento/Story, by  Xavier Garza.  In this book about Lucha Libre, young Carlitos attends a lucha libre match in Mexico City for the first time. He’s with his Papá Lupe, but his Tio Rodolfo, who’s supposed to join them, doesn’t show up. At ringside, Carlitos sees the famous luchador, el Santo—the Man in the Silver Mask, a man whose eyes look terribly familiar. El Santo even smiles at Carlitos! Carlitos is mesmerized as el Santo, is pitted against the terrible forces of evil—los rudos, the bad guys of lucha libre who make the audience boo and hiss! In the end, though, el Santo triumphs and, in the process, gains a lifelong fan.  
• Lucha Libre: Heroing’s a Full Time Job (Tips Appreciated).  This 5 series anthology was originally published in France and is now available in English by Image Comics.  Find an interview with Jerry Frisson and a lot of information about the characters, plots, and pictures of the comic book art at: “Lucha Libre” Unmasks at Image Comics – Comic Book Resources.
• Strongman, by Charles Soule and Allen Gladfelter (Illustrator).  A graphic novel of the fictional luchador, El Tigre.  ”El Tigre was the best, a legendary luchador who was a hero in the ring and out. But an act of treachery left him defeated and disillusioned, and El Tigre retreated from Mexico to live an anonymous life in New York City’s Spanish Harlem…El Tigre, now throwing wrestling matches to men twenty years his junior for drinking money, takes a final shot at redemption. When a beautiful young woman begs for his help in breaking up an organ trafficking ring, El Tigre has to find the hero that has lain dormant within him for forty years.” (from Goodreads)