First there was Santo and the Blue Demon
August 4, 2005 8:40 AM Subscribe
First there was Santo and the Blue Demon, now a new star is born in the the world of Mexican wrestling. His name? El Serpento!
At least Mexican wrestling can laugh at itself and recognize that its a farce of a sport. The sexified American version is truly awful for its way over-exagerated rifts and alliances and what amounts to a muscle and sweat soap opera with fake boobs, fake hair, fake rage and lots o' roids.
The El Serpento site has a good sense of humor, it made me smile and laugh in spite of my foul mood.
posted by fenriq at 9:20 AM on August 4, 2005
The El Serpento site has a good sense of humor, it made me smile and laugh in spite of my foul mood.
posted by fenriq at 9:20 AM on August 4, 2005
No joke, one of my buddies has big plans to break into the Lucha Libre as a fat, bloated American bad guy character, who struts around insulting women and throwing around money all while draped in an American flag. His character's name? El Imperialisto, of course.
posted by Pollomacho at 12:05 PM on August 4, 2005
posted by Pollomacho at 12:05 PM on August 4, 2005
Pollomacho: That'd be "El Imperialista", actually, and he would hardly be the first. I know there are wrestlers here using that shtick, it's a great way to be hated, of course. And then there's El Vampiro Canadiense, The Canadian Vampire, who is more kind of punk looking than vampire looking, with a bright red mohawk and a leather jacket, I never quite knew what to make of him, but he's a técnico and a good guy, AFAIR.
Oh, and Blue Demon was never even close to being as big as El Santo (I wrote most of that Wikipedia page, does that count as a self-link?) was. They teamed up in the ring, so they teamed up in the movies, I think, although by that time the movies had gone from amusing high camp to horrid, painful trash (though the pale blue suit was suave looking, I have to say), but El Santo is the iconic Mexican wrestler.
I remember being in one of my favorite bars here once, it was lateish on a Saturday night, everyone was at least slightly drunk, and a guy wearing a suit and a Santo mask walks in, probably coming from some costume party or something. A hush fell over the crowd, and then the chanting of "San-to! San-to!" started, I don't think there was anyone there who didn't participate in the chant, and the guy and his friends had drinks bought for them the rest of the night. That's how important El Santo is.
As for Santo movies, Santo Contra Las Mujeres Vampiro is considered the most enjoyable of all, released in the US as Samson vs. the Vampire Women. It's also Mystery Science Theater episode, season 6, episode 24, where I think it's slightly cut, but it's still a great episode.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 7:35 PM on August 4, 2005 [1 favorite]
Oh, and Blue Demon was never even close to being as big as El Santo (I wrote most of that Wikipedia page, does that count as a self-link?) was. They teamed up in the ring, so they teamed up in the movies, I think, although by that time the movies had gone from amusing high camp to horrid, painful trash (though the pale blue suit was suave looking, I have to say), but El Santo is the iconic Mexican wrestler.
I remember being in one of my favorite bars here once, it was lateish on a Saturday night, everyone was at least slightly drunk, and a guy wearing a suit and a Santo mask walks in, probably coming from some costume party or something. A hush fell over the crowd, and then the chanting of "San-to! San-to!" started, I don't think there was anyone there who didn't participate in the chant, and the guy and his friends had drinks bought for them the rest of the night. That's how important El Santo is.
As for Santo movies, Santo Contra Las Mujeres Vampiro is considered the most enjoyable of all, released in the US as Samson vs. the Vampire Women. It's also Mystery Science Theater episode, season 6, episode 24, where I think it's slightly cut, but it's still a great episode.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 7:35 PM on August 4, 2005 [1 favorite]
I am very disappointed in El Serpento, as he seems to only be Mexican wrestler wannabe, but am very pleased with Joakim's post and his write-up of El Santo. Thank you for sharing, Joakim.
posted by yhbc at 8:05 PM on August 4, 2005
posted by yhbc at 8:05 PM on August 4, 2005
I saw a documentary years ago about the history of pro wrestling in Mexico. One of the people it featured was Father Thunder, a Catholic priest who moonlighted as a wrestler.
Now if you're at all aware of the custom surrounding the masks in lucha libre culture, you'll know that masked wrestlers are never to be seen in public without their mask on (unless they lose it in a match).
This case was no different: they cut between shots of Father Thunder slamming guys in the ring, and Father Thunder - still in his mask - giving out communion wafers at Sunday Mass. Fantastic!
posted by macdara at 2:39 AM on August 5, 2005
Now if you're at all aware of the custom surrounding the masks in lucha libre culture, you'll know that masked wrestlers are never to be seen in public without their mask on (unless they lose it in a match).
This case was no different: they cut between shots of Father Thunder slamming guys in the ring, and Father Thunder - still in his mask - giving out communion wafers at Sunday Mass. Fantastic!
posted by macdara at 2:39 AM on August 5, 2005
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posted by goatdog at 8:46 AM on August 4, 2005