Lucha Libre Life

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When I first started this series there were three luchadores I knew I had to talk about- the trifecta of lucha libre. So far, I have covered El Santo and his "frienemy" Blue Demon, and in this post I will talk about third member of this unholy trinity- Mil Mascaras. 

Like the two previous entries in this Know Your Luchador series, I was never lucky enough to see Mil Mascaras fight in his prime. His work, however, has left a legacy that still stands strong and was responsible for opening doors to some of the great luchadors of today all around the world. 

Image from Wikipedia

As a little kid  there were two things I loved to do: get in trouble and play with my lucha libre action figures. I remember I had a ring that my father had bought me. The ring was a small plywood box with four nails half-hammered into each corner with three rubber bands stretching its perimeter acting as make-shift ropes. 

Image from Wikipedia

His name refers to  the fact that he wore a different mask each time he walked down towards the ring. Once on the ring he would take off this "gimmick" mask to reveal his traditional mask underneath. 

Unfortunately, not all that glitters is gold, throughout the years many of Mil Mascaras' opponents have been critical of his style of Lucha Libre. As a soon-to-be apprentice of the arts of Lucha Libre, I am left befuddled and ask myself to whom does Lucha Libre belong? To the luchador? or to the People? Is it wrong to betray a fellow luchador for the sake of the crowd? 

Check out Mil Mascaras profile at International Hero for more info. 

It's been a while since I have written a one of these "Know Your Luchador" posts, but yesterday I saw something so amazing, so awe inspiring, that I had to share it with you folks.  Just watch:

After watching that video, I hope you guys understand why I need to talk about this. His jump into the ring was at least ten feet and as you heard from the guy in the video at one point he was twenty feet in the air, what most amazing is the he's only 5' 7'' (that's Spud Webb legit).

The little guy's current name is "Sin Cara," (Spanish for Faceless) better known for as El Mistico here in Mexico, and his debut last Monday night marks the begging of a new age in the world of American professional wrestling. The last time I saw the WWE was when it was still the WWF and that was a long time ago, but the addition of Sin Caras to their roster will have me watching for sure. I love what the WWE has done with his character branding him as some sort of mysterious faceless warrior (because faces are so over rated). Here's a WWE promo for Sin Cara:

Sin Cara isn't new to the wrestling world, as I mentioned earlier, here in Mexico he is known as El Mistico, where his work as allowed him to leave his mark as one of the top luchadores in the nation. Seriously, check out how badass as this guy is:

He also worked in Japan as Komachi the human Shinkansen:

There were many delusions that I faced as a little kid. For example, I used to think  that Inspector Gadget was the best cartoon ever, that my kindergarten teacher was hot (she totally wasn't) and that the "D" in the Disney logo was a "G,"

I still think this, I hate you Walt Gisney

but I think the greatest of my delusions was the notion that I was related to the luchador el Huracan Ramirez. Maybe it was the Mexican last name attached to his ring name or maybe it was the fact that I really liked his mask, but for some reason as a little kid I genuinely believed that I was related to el Huracan Ramirez.

I didn't know much about el Huracan Ramirez, other than the fact that he wrestled elephants, but at school I would tell everyone he was my uncle. Maybe this would have made sense if my last name was Ramirez, but this small problem didn't bother me.

Image by roberto camargo27

In fact, I remember thinking that one day my "uncle" would come to pick me at my doorstep and ask me to join him as his kid luchador side-kick, and while this day never came as I learned more about this great luchador I began to realize that perhaps the connection between he and I was one more significant than those created by lineage.


Unlike El Santo, Blue Demon, and Mil Mascaras, el Huracan Ramirez, did not start out as a real luchador, instead he was a character created for a 1952 movie, but the character was so popular that he continued to appear in theaters and eventually made his way to the real rings.

The film in a way captures the essence of what I am trying to do with my own personal project. A young man decides to become a luchador against his father wishes... sound familiar? Eventually the young man and his father come to terms and there is a happy ending (we'll see if I can replicate this).

Of all the things that were cool about el Huracan Ramirez, I have to admit that my favorite is signature move, la Huracanrana. A move I can only describe as awesome on wheels, (yeah I know that doesn't make sense, at least not until you watch the move in motion).

 

So maybe, el Huracan Ramirez and I aren't family, but who cares and best yet who knows? I do come from a long lineage of libidinous bastards.

Get your own Huracan Ramirez mask