El Santo

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Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta
Mascara El Santo.jpg
Data
Ring name Santo ( Saint )
El Santo ( The Saint )
Santo, el Enmascarado de Plata ( Saint, the man in the silver mask )
Rudy Guzmán
El Hombre Rojo ( The Red Man )
El Demonio Negro ( The Black Demon )
El Murcielago II ( The Bat II )
debut June 28, 1934

Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (born September 23, 1917 in Tulancingo , Hidalgo , † February 5, 1984 ), known as El Santo (the saint), was a Mexican luchador - wrestler and actor .

Life

Guzmán came to Mexico City with his family in the 1920s , where he practiced various sports in his youth and also learned wrestling . His first appearance in a competitive match was in 1934 or 1935; as usual in this type of sport and show, he used various pseudonyms.

In 1942 Guzmán appeared for the first time under the ring name El Santo when a wrestling team was recomposed of silver-clad fighters . In the following four decades, up to September 1982, he celebrated numerous successes, developed his own style and was seen in a total of 52 films from 1958 - a series of comics based on his ring figure had been published since 1952 ; like many of his colleagues, he always played himself (see Lucha films ); often in combat with supernatural characters or characters borrowed from the horror field, and in quite a few films together with other wrestlers.

Guzmán had been married since the early 1940s and had ten children.

Guzmán was never seen in public without his mask; he took it off on a television show a year after his retirement, a week before his death.

Death and inheritance

Guzmán died on February 5, 1984 of a heart attack. His death caused a great deal of mourning for him across Mexico, as he was extremely popular due to his authenticity. His funeral was considered one of the greatest in Mexican history. According to his will, Guzmán was buried wearing the silver mask. As a result, February 5th was named El Santo Memorial Day in Mexico.

Years after his death, El Santo has lost none of its popularity. To this day, his comics are selling very well and his films are getting high ratings on Mexican television. A statue was erected in his hometown of Tulancingo. He is considered the greatest legend of the Lucha Libre.

His son Jórge continues his legend as El Hijo del Santo . Guzmán wanted one of his sons to do this, but only after a proper education, which is why Jórge Guzmán received a bachelor's degree. Of the 25 grandchildren Guzmán had, two are also active as wrestlers, namely Axxel and Rocker II.

Filmography (selection)

  • 1958: Santo contra el cerebro del mal
  • 1961: Santo versus los zombies
  • 1962: Superman against Vampires (Santo contra las mujeres vampiro)
  • 1969: Santo versus Blue Demon en la Atlántida
  • 1972: Santo contra las lobas
  • 1972: Santo and the blue demon contra Dracula and werewolf (Santo y Blue Demon contra Drácula y el Hombre Lobo)
  • 1982: Santo en la furia de los karatekas

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dan Madigan: Mondo Lucha a go-go. The bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. Rayo / HarperCollins Publishers, New York NY 2007, ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3 , pp. 71-78.
personal data
SURNAME El Santo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Guzmán Huerta, Rodolfo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Mexican luchador wrestler and actor
DATE OF BIRTH September 23, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH Tulancingo , Hidalgo
DATE OF DEATH 5th February 1984