Luchadores (Wrestlers)
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El Santo
El Santo is the most famous and iconic wrestler of all time. He is known as “El Enmascarado de Plata” (the “Man in the Silver Mask”). He was born Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta in Tulancingo, Hidalgo in Mexico in 1917. He came from a wrestling family with several of his brothers also having careers as professional wrestlers. Huerta wrestled under various names with little success until finally settling on the name El Santo (the “Saint”), debuting in 1942. Originally, El Santo wrestled in the style of a “rudo,” (a “bad guy” wrestler) playing against the expectations that people had of a wrestler named, a “saint.” Later, El Santo turned to being a “técnico,” a “good guy” wrestler. He wrestled for over forty years but his career was not limited to the ring. He also appeared in a very successful comic book series and later starred in over fifty feature films as the “El Santo” character. These films were action / fantasy films where the masked wrestler was the protagonist. These films were distributed throughout the world which allowed the image of El Santo to reach an international audience, extending his legend. He retired from the ring in 1982 and died two years later. El Santo was buried in his wrestling mask. Photo courtesy of Revista Box y Lucha.
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