El Santo memories on display -- but far away
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An exhibition honoring lucha libre legend El Santo opened in Mexico City late last month, marking the 25th anniversary of the fighter-turned-film-star’s death.
El Santo’s first famous silver mask, which he made himself out of pigskin, is one of the many precious items on display in the small show held by the art gallery in the Ibero-American University in Lomas de Santa Fe.
His silver leather boots, old comics starring the fighter, and some of the cloaks he wore in the ring can also be seen encased in glass in the exhibition.
El Santo, also known as the Silver Mask, was Rodolfo Guzman Huerta, born in Tulancingo in the state of Hidalgo on Sept. 23, 1917. He began fighting in the lucha libre when he was 18. Before the debut of El Santo in 1942 in the Arena de Mexico -- lucha libre’s temple in Mexico City -- Guzman fought using a number of other names, including Hombre Rojo (Red Man) and Murcielago (the Bat).
But the creation of El Santo was when Guzman really came into the spotlight, and his wrestling performances caught the attention of filmmakers, who made the fighter the star of at least 50 motion pictures.
The exhibition is small but perfectly formed. However, its location is puzzling. What is a show about one of Mexico’s most famous and universally loved personalities doing in a basement art gallery that is tucked away in one of the country’s most exclusive and expensive private universities?
Lucha libre is famous for being the sport of the people, beloved by el pueblo mexicano, and ‘las luchas,’ as they’re affectionately called here, continue to be an affordable and frequent family outing for Mexicans throughout the country.
Not only will few people be aware of this new show dedicated to El Santo because of where it is, but it’s also not easy to get to. The Ibero-American University is about an hour’s drive from downtown Mexico City, and the campus is heavily guarded.
The show was inaugurated last month by El Hijo del Santo, a.k.a. Jorge Guzman and El Santo’s son. He is a professional and popular lucha libre fighter himself and was the only one of the legendary luchador’s 11 children to follow in his footsteps. The younger Guzman studied communications at the Ibero-American University, according to the biography on his official site, before stepping into the ring as a pro, which might explain why the show is there.
But, strolling around the near-deserted exhibit on a weekday afternoon, I couldn’t help but feel that the quality of the homage will go largely unappreciated by many of El Santo’s fans because of its nearly hidden location.
-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City
luchador at the Ibero-American University. Credit: Deborah Bonello / Los Angeles Times. See more lucha libre-related photos on Flickr.