Santo
Encyclopedia
Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta more widely known as El Santo (the Saint), was a Mexican
Luchador
enmascarado
(Spanish for masked professional wrestler
), film actor
, and folk icon.
El Santo, along with Blue Demon
and Mil Máscaras
, is one of the most famous and iconic of all Mexican luchadores, and has been referred to as one of "the greatest legends in Mexican sports" His wrestling career spanned nearly five decades, during which he became a folk hero and a symbol of justice for the common man through his appearances in comic books and movies. He is said to have popularized professional wrestling in Mexico just as Rikidozan
did in Japan. Guzmán's son followed him into wrestling as El Hijo del Santo
, or 'Son of Santo'.
in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, to Jesús Guzmán Campuzano and Josefina Huerta (Márquez) de Guzmán as the fifth of seven children, Rodolfo came to Mexico City in the 1920s, where his family settled in the Tepito
neighbourhood. He practiced baseball and American football, and then became interested in wrestling. He first learned Ju-Jitsu, then classical wrestling.
on 28 June 1934, or Deportivo Islas in the Guerrero colony of Mexico City in 1935, but by the second half of the 1930s, he was established as a wrestler, using the names Rudy Guzmán, El Hombre Rojo (the Red Man), El Demonio Negro (The Black Demon) and El Murcielago II (The Bat II). The last name was a rip-off of the name of a famous wrestler Jesus Velazquez named "El Murcielago" (The Bat), and after an appeal by the Bat to the Mexican boxing and wrestling commission, the regulatory body ruled that Guzmán could not use the name.
(Son of Santo). In 1942, Rodolfo's manager, Don Jesús Lomelí, was putting together a new team of wrestlers, all dressed in silver, and wanted Rodolfo to be a part of it. He suggested three names, El Santo (The Saint), El Diablo (The Devil), or El Angel (The Angel), and Rodolfo chose the first one. On 26 June, aged 24, he wrestled at the Arena Mexico for the first time as El Santo, although he later was known simply as "Santo". Under this new name he quickly found his style.
One of Santo's greatest matches was in 1952, when he fought a tag-team known as Los Hermanos Shadow (which consisted of famed luchadors Blue Demon
and the Black Shadow). Santo beat and unmasked Black Shadow in the ring, which triggered Blue Demon
's decision to become a técnico
, as well as a legendary feud between Blue Demon
and Santo that culminated in Santo's defeat in a well-publicized series of matches in 1952 and again in 1953. Although they appeared together in a number of action/adventure films, their rivalry never really ended in later years since Santo always remembered his defeat at Blue Demon
's hands.
to take on Villano III
and Rokambole
in a match that naturally saw the legends win. After the match Villano and Rokamble lifted El Santo up on their shoulders as he received the adulation of the sold out arena. The following Sunday El Santo appeared at Arena México where he teamed up with Gran Hamada to defeat Villano I
and Scorpio, Jr.
Santo's last match took place on September 12, 1982, a week before his 65th birthday. In his last match ever El Santo teamed up with Gory Guerrero who came out of retirement to reform "La Pareja Atómica" as they teamed up with Huracán Ramirez and El Solitario. Their opponents included one of El Santo's biggest rivals in Perro Aguayo
as well as El Signo, Negro Navarro and El Texano
. True to the legend of El Santo he won his last match and retired as the hero he always portrayed in the ring and on the screen. His retirement tour was also used to introduce Santo's son Jorge as the next generation El Santo as he was ringside at each show wearing the silver mask and being introduced as El Hijo del Santo
.
wearing the silver mask, cape and outfit that is very close to what his father used to wear. While El Hijo del Santo is not as big an icon as his father he is considered a more technically proficient wrestler.
In the early 1960s a female wrestler called La Novia del Santo (Spanish for "the Bride of El Santo") worked the Mexican circuit. Under the silver mask was Irma González, a well known wrestler who had promised her fiancé that she'd stop wrestling, but went back in the ring under a mask when she could not resist the draw of competition. La Novia got El Santo's blessing to use the name and is the only non-family member ever given the right to use the Santo name. Gonzáles only wrestled as "La Novia del Santo" for 7 months until she got married. Later on, a homosexual wrestler adopted the "La Novia del Santo" name but El Santo took action and put an end to the impostor's use of the name.
Recently one of El Santo's 25 grandchildren made his professional debut. After gaining some seasoning under different identities "??" began working as "El Nieto del Santo" (Spanish for "the Grandson of Santo"). El Hijo Del Santo took legal actions to prevent this as he owns all "El Santo" rights when it comes to wrestling, presumably because he himself is planning on letting one of his own sons use the "El Nieto del Santo" name. These days, the grandson of El Santo works as "Axxel" and only uses "El Nieto del Santo" as an unofficial nickname to avoid any legal issues. Axxel uses the same trademark mask, cape and trunk design as El Santo but has incorporated black trim and knee pads, presumably not to infringe on the legal rights of El Hijo del Santo.
In 1952, the artist and editor José G. Cruz started a Santo comic book, turning Santo into the first and foremost character in Mexican popular literature, his popularity only rivalled by the legendary Kalimán
character. The Santo comic book series (four different volumes) ran continuously for 35 years, ending in 1987.
Also in 1952, a superhero motion picture serial was made entitled "The Man in the Silver Mask", which was supposed to star Santo, but he declined to appear in it, because he thought it would fail commercially. The film was made instead with well-known luchador El Médico Asesino in the lead role, wearing a white mask similar to Santo's silver one. A villain named "The Silver-Masked Man" was introduced into the plot at the last minute, thus the title of the film strangely became a reference to the villain, not the hero.
In 1958, Fernando Osés, a wrestler and actor, invited Santo to work in movies, and although Santo was unwilling to give up his wrestling career, he accepted, planning to do both at the same time. Oses was planning on playing the hero in these films, with Santo appearing as his costumed sidekick. Fernando Osés and Enrique Zambrano wrote the scripts for the first two movies, el Cerebro del Mal (The Evil Brain) and Hombres Infernales (The Infernal Men), both released in 1958, and directed by Joselito Rodríguez. Filming was done in Cuba
, and ended just the day before Fidel Castro
entered Havana and declared the victory of the revolution. Santo played a masked superhero-type sidekick to the main hero (who was called El Incognito) in these two films, and was not the main character (nor was he depicted as a wrestler in these 2 films). The films did poorly at the box office when they were released. Years later however, when Santo's film career took off, the distributors of these two films quietly added Santo's name into the titles. Most people feel Santo's film career really took off in 1961, with his third movie "Santo Vs The Zombies." Santo was given the starring role with this film, and was shown for the first time as a professional wrestler moonlighting as a superhero.
Santo wound up appearing in a total of 52 lucha libre films in all, two of which were just cameo appearances. The style of the movies was essentially the same throughout the series, with Santo as a superhero fighting supernatural creatures, evil scientists, various criminals/ secret agents and so on. The tones were reminiscent of U.S. B-movies and TV shows, perhaps most similar to the old Republic Pictures serials of the 1940s.
His best-known movie outside of Mexico is also considered one of his best, 1962s Santo vs. las Mujeres Vampiro (Santo vs. the Vampire Women), which was also featured in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000
. In this movie, the production values were better, and there was an attempt at creating more a mythos and background for Santo, as the last of a long line of fighters against evil. It was an enormous success at the box office, and was one of the 4 Santo films ever to be dubbed in English. Some of these English films were imported to the United States through the efforts of K. Gordon Murray
who changed the name of Santo to Samson for some of his releases. Santo's most financially successful film however was "The Mummies of Guanajuato" (1970), which co-starred Blue Demon
and Mil Mascaras
.
Many Mexi-movie fans consider it to be the greatest luchador film ever made.
The Santo film series inspired the production of similar series of movies starring other well-known luchadores such as Blue Demon, Mil Mascaras, Superzan and the Wrestling Women, among others. Santo even co-starred with Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras in several of his movies. When Blue Demon invited Santo to co-star with him and Mil Mascaras in the "Champions of Justice" movie trilogy, however, Santo was too busy making other films to participate.
By 1977, the masked wrestler film craze had practically died off, but Santo continued to appear in more films over the next few years. His last film was "FURY OF THE KARATE EXPERTS", shot in Florida in 1982, the same year he retired from the ring. Santo officially retired from wrestling on Sept. 12, 1982 (a week before his 65th birthday). His last match was at the El Toreo de Cuatro Caminos in Mexico. All told, his professional wrestling career spanned a total of 48 years.
Santo appeared as a guest on Contrapunto, a Mexican television program and, completely without warning, removed his mask just enough to expose his face. It is the only documented case of Santo ever removing his mask in public. Santo died from a heart attack on Feb. 5, 1984, at 9:40 p.m. (about a week after his Contrapunto TV appearance). He was 66 years old. As per his wishes, he was buried wearing his famous silver mask.
Santo also became an animated mini-series on Cartoon Network
in Latin America
. On October 27, 2004, Cartoon Network released the first chapter of 5 shorts. Each chapter is about 2 minutes long, and they were shown weekly on Wednesday nights at 8:00 PM. There is also currently another Santo series in development at Cartoon Network Studios
in Burbank. The mini series was inspired by Santo's classic movies. Santo fought against an evil scientist, Dr. Clone, who collected the DNA of Santo's previous foes and resurrected them to kill Santo and dominate the world.
El Santo also inspired the animated series Mucha Lucha and El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera
. In Mucha Lucha he's called "El Rey", and it's represented as an icon of all positive things. In El Tigre, the character White Pantera shares much of El Santo's ever optimist attitude from the movies, but there's also a character named Silver Sombrero who is an exact copy of Santo, except he wears a large Mexican hat.
Santo is immortalized in the rockabilly
band Southern Culture on the Skids
' 1996 album Santo Swings!/Viva el Santo. Santo is often resurrected in Southern Culture's live performances when an audience member jumps onstage donning Santo's mask. The Latin
ska
band King Changó
released an album titled The Return of El Santo
. A Turkish
actor portrayed an unlicensed version of Santo in the infamous bootleg Turkish film
3 dev adam
. In addition the 2001 Canadian cult film, Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter
, also features an unlicensed version of El Santo as one of Christ's monster hunting associates.
He also is referred by mexican rock band Botellita de Jerez
in their song Santo, where they told Santo's victories in the ring and in the movies as well as the big respect he got as a Mexican movie hero, in the song they parody songs like the Batman TV Series's theme along as some religious songs.
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
Luchador
Lucha libre
Lucha libre is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, for a form of professional wrestling that has developed within those countries...
enmascarado
Wrestling mask
A Wrestling mask is a fabric based mask that some professional wrestlers wear as part of their in-ring persona or gimmick. Professional wrestlers have been using masks as far back as 1915 and they are still widely used today, especially in Lucha Libre in Mexico.-History:In 1915 a North American...
(Spanish for masked professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
), film actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, and folk icon.
El Santo, along with Blue Demon
Blue Demon
Alejandro Muñoz Moreno , better known as Blue Demon , was a Mexican luchador Enmascarado who was widely considered to be one of the greatest Mexican wrestlers of his time...
and Mil Máscaras
Mil Máscaras
Aaron Rodríguez , best known as Mil Máscaras , is a semi-retired Mexican professional wrestler and actor, who has starred in several films with fellow luchadores...
, is one of the most famous and iconic of all Mexican luchadores, and has been referred to as one of "the greatest legends in Mexican sports" His wrestling career spanned nearly five decades, during which he became a folk hero and a symbol of justice for the common man through his appearances in comic books and movies. He is said to have popularized professional wrestling in Mexico just as Rikidozan
Rikidozan
, better known as Rikidōzan , was a Korean Japanese professional wrestler, known as the "Father of Puroresu" and one of the most influential men in wrestling history. Initially, he had moved from his native country Korea to Japan to become a sumo wrestler...
did in Japan. Guzmán's son followed him into wrestling as El Hijo del Santo
El Hijo del Santo
Jorge Guzmán Rodríguez , better known as El Hijo del Santo , is a Mexican professional wrestler, political activist and one of the most successful stars in Lucha Libre...
, or 'Son of Santo'.
Biography
Born in TulancingoTulancingo
Tulancingo is the second-largest city in the Mexican state of Hidalgo. It is located in the southeastern part of the state and also forms one of the 84 municipalities of Hidalgo, as well as the Archdiocese of Tulancingo...
in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, to Jesús Guzmán Campuzano and Josefina Huerta (Márquez) de Guzmán as the fifth of seven children, Rodolfo came to Mexico City in the 1920s, where his family settled in the Tepito
Tepito
Tepito is a barrio located in Colonia Morelos in the Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City bordered by Avenida del Trabajo, Paseo de la Reforma, Eje 1 and Eje 2. Most of the neighborhood is taken up by the colorful tianguis or open-air market. Tepito’s economy has been linked to tianguis or traditional...
neighbourhood. He practiced baseball and American football, and then became interested in wrestling. He first learned Ju-Jitsu, then classical wrestling.
Pro wrestling career
Accounts vary as to exactly when and where he first wrestled competitively, either in Arena Peralvillo CozumelCozumel
Cozumel is an island in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen, and close to the Yucatan Channel. Cozumel is one of the ten municipalities of the state of Quintana Roo...
on 28 June 1934, or Deportivo Islas in the Guerrero colony of Mexico City in 1935, but by the second half of the 1930s, he was established as a wrestler, using the names Rudy Guzmán, El Hombre Rojo (the Red Man), El Demonio Negro (The Black Demon) and El Murcielago II (The Bat II). The last name was a rip-off of the name of a famous wrestler Jesus Velazquez named "El Murcielago" (The Bat), and after an appeal by the Bat to the Mexican boxing and wrestling commission, the regulatory body ruled that Guzmán could not use the name.
El Santo
In the early 1940s, Guzmán married María de los Ángeles Rodríguez Montaño (Maruca), a union that would produce 10 children; their names were Alejandro, María de los Ángeles, Héctor Rodolfo, Blanca Lilia, Víctor Manuel, Miguel Ángel, Silvia Yolanda, María de Lourdes, Mercedes, and the youngest child Jorge, who also became a famous wrestler in his own right, El Hijo del SantoEl Hijo del Santo
Jorge Guzmán Rodríguez , better known as El Hijo del Santo , is a Mexican professional wrestler, political activist and one of the most successful stars in Lucha Libre...
(Son of Santo). In 1942, Rodolfo's manager, Don Jesús Lomelí, was putting together a new team of wrestlers, all dressed in silver, and wanted Rodolfo to be a part of it. He suggested three names, El Santo (The Saint), El Diablo (The Devil), or El Angel (The Angel), and Rodolfo chose the first one. On 26 June, aged 24, he wrestled at the Arena Mexico for the first time as El Santo, although he later was known simply as "Santo". Under this new name he quickly found his style.
One of Santo's greatest matches was in 1952, when he fought a tag-team known as Los Hermanos Shadow (which consisted of famed luchadors Blue Demon
Blue Demon
Alejandro Muñoz Moreno , better known as Blue Demon , was a Mexican luchador Enmascarado who was widely considered to be one of the greatest Mexican wrestlers of his time...
and the Black Shadow). Santo beat and unmasked Black Shadow in the ring, which triggered Blue Demon
Blue Demon
Alejandro Muñoz Moreno , better known as Blue Demon , was a Mexican luchador Enmascarado who was widely considered to be one of the greatest Mexican wrestlers of his time...
's decision to become a técnico
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
, as well as a legendary feud between Blue Demon
Blue Demon
Alejandro Muñoz Moreno , better known as Blue Demon , was a Mexican luchador Enmascarado who was widely considered to be one of the greatest Mexican wrestlers of his time...
and Santo that culminated in Santo's defeat in a well-publicized series of matches in 1952 and again in 1953. Although they appeared together in a number of action/adventure films, their rivalry never really ended in later years since Santo always remembered his defeat at Blue Demon
Blue Demon
Alejandro Muñoz Moreno , better known as Blue Demon , was a Mexican luchador Enmascarado who was widely considered to be one of the greatest Mexican wrestlers of his time...
's hands.
Retirement
By the early 1980s El Santo slowed down his in ring activities leading up to his inevitable retirement. His farewell tour was announced for August and September 1982. the first of three events took place on August 22, 1982 at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City. On that night El Santo teamed up with El SolitarioEl Solitario
Roberto González Cruz was a Mexican professional wrestler who wrestled under the name El Solitario. During his career he held both the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Middleweight Championship...
to take on Villano III
Villano III
Arturo Díaz Mendoza is a Mexican professional wrestler best known for performing under the stage name Villano III and unmasking a very large number of wrestlers , he is most famous for teaming with one or more of his brothers: Villano I, Villano II, Villano IV, Villano V, Villano VI and Villano VII...
and Rokambole
Villano V
Raymundo Díaz Mendoza Jr. is a Mexican professional wrestler who has performed under the name Villano V until he was unmasked on March 20, 2009, after which he became known as "Ray Mendoza, Jr.". Mendoza and is part of the Mendoza family, a well known Mexican wrestling family that includes all...
in a match that naturally saw the legends win. After the match Villano and Rokamble lifted El Santo up on their shoulders as he received the adulation of the sold out arena. The following Sunday El Santo appeared at Arena México where he teamed up with Gran Hamada to defeat Villano I
Villaño I
Villano I was the ring name of José de Jesús Díaz Mendoza a Mexican Luchador enmascarado, or masked professional wrestler. He was the oldest son of luchador Ray Mendoza, and the first of the five Díaz Mendoza brothers to become a professional wrestler, although not the oldest...
and Scorpio, Jr.
Scorpio, Jr.
Rafael Núñez Juan is a Mexican Luchador or professional wrestler who is best known under his Ring name Scorpio, Jr. Núñez is the son of professional wrestler "Scorpio" and was trained by his father and Rafael Salamanca before making his debut on August 30, 1985...
Santo's last match took place on September 12, 1982, a week before his 65th birthday. In his last match ever El Santo teamed up with Gory Guerrero who came out of retirement to reform "La Pareja Atómica" as they teamed up with Huracán Ramirez and El Solitario. Their opponents included one of El Santo's biggest rivals in Perro Aguayo
Perro Aguayo
Pedro Aguayo better known as "Perro Aguayo" and El Can de Nochistlan , was a famous Mexican wrestler through 1970s to 1990s. His son also wrestles as Perro Aguayo, Jr. or El Hijo del Perro Aguayo . He is one of the biggest box office attractions in lucha libre history and was the last major rival...
as well as El Signo, Negro Navarro and El Texano
El Texano
Juan Conrado Aguilar Jáuregui , better known by his ring name El Texano, was a Mexican professional wrestler...
. True to the legend of El Santo he won his last match and retired as the hero he always portrayed in the ring and on the screen. His retirement tour was also used to introduce Santo's son Jorge as the next generation El Santo as he was ringside at each show wearing the silver mask and being introduced as El Hijo del Santo
El Hijo del Santo
Jorge Guzmán Rodríguez , better known as El Hijo del Santo , is a Mexican professional wrestler, political activist and one of the most successful stars in Lucha Libre...
.
Death
Just over a year after his retirement El Santo was a guest on Contrapunto, a Mexican television program and, completely without warning, removed his mask just enough to expose his face, in effect bidding his fans goodbye. It is the only documented case of Santo ever removing his mask in public. Santo died from a heart attack on February 5, 1984, at 9:40 p.m., a week after his Contrapunto TV appearance. As per his wishes, he was buried wearing his famous silver mask. His funeral is considered one of the biggest in Mexican history as fans and friends flocked to see "el Enmascarado de Plata" (the Silver-Masked Man) one last time. After his death a statue of El Santo was erected in his home town of Tulancingo and other statues have been created since then.Legacy
The legend of El Santo lives on to this very day both inside and outside the wrestling ring. Santo's youngest son with his first wife, Jorge carries on the legend of the Silver Mask, wrestling as El Hijo del SantoEl Hijo del Santo
Jorge Guzmán Rodríguez , better known as El Hijo del Santo , is a Mexican professional wrestler, political activist and one of the most successful stars in Lucha Libre...
wearing the silver mask, cape and outfit that is very close to what his father used to wear. While El Hijo del Santo is not as big an icon as his father he is considered a more technically proficient wrestler.
In the early 1960s a female wrestler called La Novia del Santo (Spanish for "the Bride of El Santo") worked the Mexican circuit. Under the silver mask was Irma González, a well known wrestler who had promised her fiancé that she'd stop wrestling, but went back in the ring under a mask when she could not resist the draw of competition. La Novia got El Santo's blessing to use the name and is the only non-family member ever given the right to use the Santo name. Gonzáles only wrestled as "La Novia del Santo" for 7 months until she got married. Later on, a homosexual wrestler adopted the "La Novia del Santo" name but El Santo took action and put an end to the impostor's use of the name.
Recently one of El Santo's 25 grandchildren made his professional debut. After gaining some seasoning under different identities "??" began working as "El Nieto del Santo" (Spanish for "the Grandson of Santo"). El Hijo Del Santo took legal actions to prevent this as he owns all "El Santo" rights when it comes to wrestling, presumably because he himself is planning on letting one of his own sons use the "El Nieto del Santo" name. These days, the grandson of El Santo works as "Axxel" and only uses "El Nieto del Santo" as an unofficial nickname to avoid any legal issues. Axxel uses the same trademark mask, cape and trunk design as El Santo but has incorporated black trim and knee pads, presumably not to infringe on the legal rights of El Hijo del Santo.
Movie career
Kalimán
Kaliman is the name of a Mexican comic book hero very famous across Latin America. He was created by Rafael Cutberto Navarro and Modesto Vázquez González. The Kaliman comic depicts the adventures of Kaliman and his young companion Solín, an Egyptian boy who is descended from Pharaohs...
character. The Santo comic book series (four different volumes) ran continuously for 35 years, ending in 1987.
Also in 1952, a superhero motion picture serial was made entitled "The Man in the Silver Mask", which was supposed to star Santo, but he declined to appear in it, because he thought it would fail commercially. The film was made instead with well-known luchador El Médico Asesino in the lead role, wearing a white mask similar to Santo's silver one. A villain named "The Silver-Masked Man" was introduced into the plot at the last minute, thus the title of the film strangely became a reference to the villain, not the hero.
In 1958, Fernando Osés, a wrestler and actor, invited Santo to work in movies, and although Santo was unwilling to give up his wrestling career, he accepted, planning to do both at the same time. Oses was planning on playing the hero in these films, with Santo appearing as his costumed sidekick. Fernando Osés and Enrique Zambrano wrote the scripts for the first two movies, el Cerebro del Mal (The Evil Brain) and Hombres Infernales (The Infernal Men), both released in 1958, and directed by Joselito Rodríguez. Filming was done in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, and ended just the day before Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
entered Havana and declared the victory of the revolution. Santo played a masked superhero-type sidekick to the main hero (who was called El Incognito) in these two films, and was not the main character (nor was he depicted as a wrestler in these 2 films). The films did poorly at the box office when they were released. Years later however, when Santo's film career took off, the distributors of these two films quietly added Santo's name into the titles. Most people feel Santo's film career really took off in 1961, with his third movie "Santo Vs The Zombies." Santo was given the starring role with this film, and was shown for the first time as a professional wrestler moonlighting as a superhero.
Santo wound up appearing in a total of 52 lucha libre films in all, two of which were just cameo appearances. The style of the movies was essentially the same throughout the series, with Santo as a superhero fighting supernatural creatures, evil scientists, various criminals/ secret agents and so on. The tones were reminiscent of U.S. B-movies and TV shows, perhaps most similar to the old Republic Pictures serials of the 1940s.
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
. In this movie, the production values were better, and there was an attempt at creating more a mythos and background for Santo, as the last of a long line of fighters against evil. It was an enormous success at the box office, and was one of the 4 Santo films ever to be dubbed in English. Some of these English films were imported to the United States through the efforts of K. Gordon Murray
K. Gordon Murray
K. Gordon Murray was an American producer, most notable for his redubbing and re-releasing of foreign fairy tale films for U.S. audiences. He is often cited as the "King of the Kiddie Matinee"...
who changed the name of Santo to Samson for some of his releases. Santo's most financially successful film however was "The Mummies of Guanajuato" (1970), which co-starred Blue Demon
Blue Demon
Alejandro Muñoz Moreno , better known as Blue Demon , was a Mexican luchador Enmascarado who was widely considered to be one of the greatest Mexican wrestlers of his time...
and Mil Mascaras
Mil Máscaras
Aaron Rodríguez , best known as Mil Máscaras , is a semi-retired Mexican professional wrestler and actor, who has starred in several films with fellow luchadores...
.
Many Mexi-movie fans consider it to be the greatest luchador film ever made.
The Santo film series inspired the production of similar series of movies starring other well-known luchadores such as Blue Demon, Mil Mascaras, Superzan and the Wrestling Women, among others. Santo even co-starred with Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras in several of his movies. When Blue Demon invited Santo to co-star with him and Mil Mascaras in the "Champions of Justice" movie trilogy, however, Santo was too busy making other films to participate.
By 1977, the masked wrestler film craze had practically died off, but Santo continued to appear in more films over the next few years. His last film was "FURY OF THE KARATE EXPERTS", shot in Florida in 1982, the same year he retired from the ring. Santo officially retired from wrestling on Sept. 12, 1982 (a week before his 65th birthday). His last match was at the El Toreo de Cuatro Caminos in Mexico. All told, his professional wrestling career spanned a total of 48 years.
Santo appeared as a guest on Contrapunto, a Mexican television program and, completely without warning, removed his mask just enough to expose his face. It is the only documented case of Santo ever removing his mask in public. Santo died from a heart attack on Feb. 5, 1984, at 9:40 p.m. (about a week after his Contrapunto TV appearance). He was 66 years old. As per his wishes, he was buried wearing his famous silver mask.
Other media appearances
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. On October 27, 2004, Cartoon Network released the first chapter of 5 shorts. Each chapter is about 2 minutes long, and they were shown weekly on Wednesday nights at 8:00 PM. There is also currently another Santo series in development at Cartoon Network Studios
Cartoon Network Studios
Cartoon Network Studios is an American animation studio. A subsidiary of the Turner Broadcasting System , Cartoon Network Studios focuses on producing and developing animated programs only for and related to Cartoon Network...
in Burbank. The mini series was inspired by Santo's classic movies. Santo fought against an evil scientist, Dr. Clone, who collected the DNA of Santo's previous foes and resurrected them to kill Santo and dominate the world.
El Santo also inspired the animated series Mucha Lucha and El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera
El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera
El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera is Nickelodeon's first ever flash animation series produced for Nickelodeon and Nicktoons Network. The first screening of the show was on January 19, 2007 in the first ever Nickelodeon Creative Summit held in San Juan, Puerto Rico as a special treat for the...
. In Mucha Lucha he's called "El Rey", and it's represented as an icon of all positive things. In El Tigre, the character White Pantera shares much of El Santo's ever optimist attitude from the movies, but there's also a character named Silver Sombrero who is an exact copy of Santo, except he wears a large Mexican hat.
Santo is immortalized in the rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
band Southern Culture on the Skids
Southern Culture on the Skids
Southern Culture on the Skids, also sometimes known as SCOTS, is an American rock band that was formed in 1983 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina...
' 1996 album Santo Swings!/Viva el Santo. Santo is often resurrected in Southern Culture's live performances when an audience member jumps onstage donning Santo's mask. The Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
band King Changó
King Changó
King Changó is a Latin ska band from New York City, New York with roots in Venezuela. Its name comes from Changó, the Afro-Cuban god of war.King Changó is back; check .- Members :* José Andrés Blanco, Blanquito Man -...
released an album titled The Return of El Santo
The Return of El Santo
The Return of El Santo is the second album released in 2000 by Latin ska band King Changó. The album's title is a tribute to Mexican wrestler El Santo.-Track listing:# "Finalmente" – 4:33...
. A Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
actor portrayed an unlicensed version of Santo in the infamous bootleg Turkish film
Cinema of Turkey
Turkish cinema is an important part of Turkish culture, and has flourished over the years, delivering entertainment to audiences in Turkey, expatriates across Europe, and in rare cases, the USA....
3 dev adam
3 Dev Adam
3 Giant Men is a 1973 Turkish cult action film, directed by T. Fikret Uçak and written by Doğan Tamer based on the characters created by Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Joe Simon and Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta, featuring Aytekin Akkaya as Captain America and Yavuz Selekman as Santo called to...
. In addition the 2001 Canadian cult film, Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter is a 2001 cult film from Odessa Filmworks which deals with Jesus' modern-day struggle to protect the lesbians of Ottawa, Canada, from vampires with the help of Mexican wrestler El Santo .This film earned an...
, also features an unlicensed version of El Santo as one of Christ's monster hunting associates.
He also is referred by mexican rock band Botellita de Jerez
Botellita de Jeréz
Botellita de Jerez is a Mexican rock band, formed in Mexico City in 1982. Their music is a fusion of rock, cumbia, and Mexican traditional music like mariachi and son, creating the genre called guacarrock...
in their song Santo, where they told Santo's victories in the ring and in the movies as well as the big respect he got as a Mexican movie hero, in the song they parody songs like the Batman TV Series's theme along as some religious songs.
Santo filmography (in chronological order)
- Santo contra el cerebro del mal (Santo Vs. The Evil Brain, 1958)
- Santo contra hombres infernales (Santo vs. The Infernal Men, 1958)
- Santo contra los zombies (Santo vs. The Zombies, 1961) aka Invasion of the Zombies (dubbed in English)
- Santo contra el rey del crimen (Santo vs. The King of Crime, 1961)
- Santo en el hotel de la muerte (Santo In The Hotel of Death, 1961)
- Santo contra el cerebro diabolico (Santo vs. the Diabolical Brain, 1962)
- Santo contra las mujeres vampiro (Santo vs. The Vampire Women, 1962) aka Samson vs. the Vampire Women (dubbed in English)
- Santo en el museo de cera (Santo In The Wax Museum, 1963) aka Samson in the Wax Museum (dubbed in English)
- Santo contra el estrangulador (Santo vs. The Strangler, 1963)
- El espectro del estrangulador (Santo vs. The Ghost of the Strangler, 1963)
- Blue Demon contra el poder satánicoBlue Demon contra el poder satánicoBlue Demon vs. the Satanic Power is a 1966 Mexican film. It was directed by Chano Urueta....
(Blue Demon vs. Satanic Power, 1964) (cameo appearance) - Santo en Atacan las brujas (Santo in The Witches Attack, 1964) aka Santo en la casa de las brujas
- El hacha diabólica (Santo in The Diabolical Axe, 1964)
- Santo en los profanadores de tumbas (Santo in The Grave Robbers, 1965)
- Santo en el Barón Brakola (Santo in Baron Brakola, 1965)
- Santo contra la invasión de los marcianos (Santo vs. The Martian Invasion, 1966)
- Santo contra los villanos del ring (Santo vs. The Villains of the Ring, 1966) (Santo's last B&W film)
- Santo en Operación 67 (Santo in Operation 67, 1966) (Santo's first color film)
- Santo en el tesoro de Moctezuma (Santo in The Treasure of Moctezuma, 1967)
- Santo en el tesoro de Drácula (Santo in Dracula's Treasure, 1968) aka The Vampire and Sex (a separate adult-rated version)
- Santo contra Capulina (Santo vs. Capulina, 1968)
- Santo contra Blue Demon en la Atlántida (Santo vs. Blue Demon in Atlantis, 1969)
- Santo y Blue Demon contra los monstruos (Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monsters, 1969)
- Santo y Blue Demon en el mundo de los muertos (Santo and Blue Demon in the World of the Dead, 1969)
- Santo contra los cazadores de cabezas (Santo vs. The Headhunters, 1969)
- Santo frente a la muerte (Santo Faces Death, 1969) aka Santo vs. the Mafia Killers
- Santo contra los jinetes del terror (Santo Vs The Terror Riders, 1970) aka The Lepers and Sex (a separate adult-rated version)
- Santo en la venganza de las mujeres vampiro (Santo in the Revenge of the Vampire Women, 1970)
- Santo contra la mafia del vicio (Santo vs. The Mafia of Vice, 1970) aka Mission Sabotage
- Santo en la venganza de la momia (Santo in the Mummy's Revenge, 1970)
- Santo en Las momias de Guanajuato (Santo in The Mummies of Guanajuato, 1970) (co-starring Mil Mascaras and Blue Demon)
- Santo en el misterio de la perla negra (Santo in the Mystery of the Black Pearl, 1971) aka The Caribbean Connection (this film was released in Spain in 1971, but was only released in Mexico in 1975)
- Santo contra la hija de Frankenstein (Santo vs. Frankenstein's Daughter, 1971)
- Santo en Misión suicida (Santo in Suicide Mission, 1971)
- Santo contra los asesinos de otros mundos (Santo vs. the Killers from Other Worlds, 1971) aka Santo vs. the Living Atom
- Santo y el tigresa en el aguila real (Santo and the Tigress in the Royal Eagle, 1971)
- Santo y Blue Demon contra Drácula y el Hombre Lobo (Santo and Blue Demon Vs. Dracula and the Wolf Man, 1972)
- Santo contra los secuestradores (Santo Vs. The Kidnappers, 1972)
- Santo contra la magia negra (Santo vs. Black Magic, 1972)
- Santo y Blue Demon en las bestias del terror (Santo and Blue Demon in the Beasts of Terror, 1972)
- Santo contra las lobas (Santo vs. The She-Wolves, 1972)
- Santo en Anónimo mortal (Santo in Anonymous Death Threat, 1972)
- Santo y Blue Demon contra el doctor Frankenstein (Santo and Blue Demon Vs Dr. Frankenstein, 1973)
- Santo contra el doctor Muerte (Santo Vs Dr. Death, 1973) aka Santo strikes again, aka The Masked Man Strikes Again" (one of only four Santo films that was dubbed in English)
- Santo en la venganza de la llorona (Santo in the Revenge of the Crying Woman, 1974) (co-starring boxing champ Mantequilla Napoles)
- Santo en Oro negro (Santo in Black Gold, 1975) aka La Noche de San Juan
- Santo en el Misterio en las Bermudas (Santo in The Bermuda Mystery, 1977) (co-starring Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras)
- Santo en la frontera del terror (Santo at the Border of Terror, 1979) aka Santo vs. the White Shadow
- Santo contra el asesino de televisión (Santo vs the TV Killer, 1981)
- Chanoc y el hijo del Santo contra los vampiros asesinos (Chanoc and Son of Santo vs. The Killer Vampires, 1981) (cameo appearance)
- Santo en el puño de la muerte (Santo in Fist of Death, 1982)
- Santo en la furia de los karatekas (Santo in Fury of the Karate Experts, 1982)
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- La de a Caballo (Camel clutch)
- Topé de Cristo (Diving headbutt)
- Signature moves
- Plancha
- Suicide dive
Championships and accomplishments
- Empresa Mundial de Lucha LibreConsejo Mundial de Lucha LibreConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre is a Lucha Libre-style professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City while running cards in Guadalajara, Puebla and elsewhere in central and southern Mexico...
- Mexican National Light Heavyweight ChampionshipMexican National Light Heavyweight ChampionshipThe Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship is a national Mexican singles professional wrestling championship controlled by Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F....
(1 time) - Mexican National Middleweight ChampionshipMexican National Middleweight ChampionshipThe Mexican National Middleweight Championship is a national Mexican professional wrestling championship controlled by a "National title" controlled by the "Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F." , which regulates all matches where the title is defended...
(4 times) - Mexican National Tag Team ChampionshipMexican National Tag Team ChampionshipThe Mexican National Tag Team Championship is a national Mexican professional wrestling championship controlled by the "Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F." and contested for by Tag teams only...
(2 times) - with Rayo de JaliscoRayo de Jalisco, Sr.Máximino "Max" Linares Moreno , better known as Rayo de Jalisco is a Mexican luchador who is considered to be one of the best wrestlers of his generation.... - Mexican National Welterweight ChampionshipMexican National Welterweight ChampionshipThe Mexican National Welterweight Championship is a Mexican professional wrestling championship created and sanctioned by Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F. . While the commission sanctions the title, it does not promote the events at which the title is defended...
(2 times) - NWA World Middleweight ChampionshipNWA World Middleweight ChampionshipThe NWA World Middleweight Championship is a currently inactive professional wrestling championship, promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance . For the majority of its existence it has been promoted by Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre , where it was known as the Campeonato...
(1 time) - NWA World Welterweight ChampionshipNWA World Welterweight ChampionshipThe NWA World Welterweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship governed by the National Wrestling Alliance . For the majority of its existence, the title has been promoted by Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre , where it was known as the Campeonato Mundial Welter de...
(2 time)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of FameWrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of FameThe Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to the sport. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame is not...
(Class of 1996)
Lucha de Apuesta record
| Wager | Winner | Loser | Location | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hair | El Santo | Cavernario Galindo Cavernario Galindo Rodolfo Galindo Ramirez was a Mexican luchador and film actor, best known by his ring name Cavernario Galindo , who was active in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre from the 1930s to the 1990s... |
Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... |
Unknown | |
| Hair | El Santo | Raúl Torres | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Hair | El Santo | Gorilita Flores | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Hair | El Santo | Judas Colombiano | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Hair | El Santo | Gory Casanova | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Hair | El Santo | Arturo Chávez | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Mask | El Santo | Golden Terror | Guadalajara Guadalajara Guadalajara may refer to:In Mexico:*Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state of Jalisco and second largest city in Mexico**Guadalajara Metropolitan Area*University of Guadalajara, a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco... , Jalisco Jalisco Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states... |
Unknown | |
| Mask | El Santo | La Cebra | Colombia Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the... |
Unknown | |
| Mask | El Santo | La Araña | Torreón Torreón Torreón is a city and seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Coahuila. As of 2010, the city's population was 608,836 with 639,629 in the municipality. The metropolitan population, including Matamoros, Coahuila, and Gómez Palacio and Lerdo in adjacent Durango,... , Coahuila Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico... |
Unknown | |
| Mask | El Santo | La Momia | San Salvador San Salvador The city of San Salvador the capital and largest city of El Salvador, which has been designated a Gamma World City. Its complete name is La Ciudad de Gran San Salvador... |
Unknown | |
| Mask | El Santo | Cara Cortada | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Mask | El Santo | Dragón Rojo | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Hair | El Santo | Chico Casaola | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Mask | El Santo | Dr. X (original) | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Mask | El Santo and Dr. X (original) | Los Infernales (I and II) | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Hair | El Santo | Murciélago Velázquez | Unknown | ||
| Hair | El Santo | Bobby Bonales | Unknown | ||
| Hair | El Santo | Bobby Bonales | Unknown | ||
| Hair | El Santo | Jack O'Brien Jack O'Brien (wrestler) Marcelo Andreani was an American-born Mexican professional wrestler best known under the ring name "Roughouse" Jack O'Brien and worked mainly in Mexico for Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre where he held the Mexican National Lightweight Championship, Mexican National Welterweight Championship and... |
Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... |
||
| Hair | El Santo | Enrique Llanes Enrique Llanes Enrique Juan Yañez González , best known under the ring name Enrique Llanes, was one of the premier Hispanic professional wrestlers in the early days of Lucha Libre when most wrestlers were imported from outside of Mexico... |
Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... |
||
| Mask | El Santo | Black Shadow | Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... |
||
| Mask | El Santo | Monje Loco | Unknown | ||
| Mask | El Santo | Halcón Negro | Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... |
||
| Mask | El Santo | El Gladiador | Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... |
||
| Hair | El Santo | Rubén Juárez | Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... |
||
| Hair | El Santo | Espanto II | Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... |
||
| Hair | El Santo | Benny Galant | Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... |
||
| Mask | El Santo | Espanto I | Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... |
||
| Mask | El Santo | Dick Angelo | Unknown | ||
| Hair | El Santo | René Guajardo René Guajardo Manuel Guajardo Mejorado , better known as René Guajardo, was a Mexican professional wrestler.-Professional wrestling career:... |
Unknown | ||
| Hair | El Santo | Jorge Allende | Unknown | ||
| Hair | El Santo | Perro Aguayo Perro Aguayo Pedro Aguayo better known as "Perro Aguayo" and El Can de Nochistlan , was a famous Mexican wrestler through 1970s to 1990s. His son also wrestles as Perro Aguayo, Jr. or El Hijo del Perro Aguayo . He is one of the biggest box office attractions in lucha libre history and was the last major rival... |
Unknown | ||
| Mask | El Santo | Bobby Lee | Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... |
||
| Hair | El Santo | Bobby Lee | Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... |
||
| Mask | El Santo | El Remolino | Ciudad Obregón Ciudad Obregón Ciudad Obregon is the second largest city in the northern Mexican state of Sonora and is situated south of the state's northern border with the U.S. state of Arizona. It is also the municipal seat of Cajeme municipality, located in the Yaqui Valley.- History :... , Sonora Sonora Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo.... |