Luchador films (or ''Lucha Libre films'') are Mexican

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

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films starring some of the most popular masked luchadores in

Lucha Libre Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...

. The luchadores are portrayed as superheroes engaging in battles against a range of characters from spies, to vampires and Martians. These films were low-budget and produced quickly. Nearly all lucha films included fist-fighting and wrestling action sequences in and out of the ring which were choreographed and performed by the stars themselves without the aid of stunt doubles. The genre's popularity peaked during the mid-1960s to early-1970s. At least 150 luchador films were produced starting with the 1952 film ''

Huracán Ramírez Daniel García Arteaga (April 9, 1926 – October 31, 2006), best known under the ring name Huracán Ramírez ( English: "Hurricane Ramírez"), was a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler) and actor. García was n ...

''.

History

One of the most well-known Mexican luchador film stars was

El Santo Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (23 September 1917 – 5 February 1984), known professionally as El Santo or in English The Saint, was a Mexican luchador enmascarado (Spanish for "masked professional wrestler"), actor and folk hero. He is one of the ...

(Rodolfo Guzman Huerta), who starred in 52 films. Luis Enrique Vergara, the producer of the Santo movies and

Mil Máscaras Mil Máscaras (born Aarón Rodríguez Arellano, July 15, 1942) is a Mexican luchador (professional wrestler) and actor. He is regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of the lucha libre tradition in Mexico – along with El Santo and Blue Dem ...

films, also created a

Blue Demon Alejandro Muñoz Moreno (April 24, 1922 – December 16, 2000), better known by the ring name Blue Demon (''Demonio Azul'' in Spanish), was a Mexican film actor and ''luchador enmascarado'' (Spanish for masked professional wrestler). Blue D ...

series, similar to the stories then appearing in the weekly Mexican comic books. Blue Demon starred in 25 Lucha films. Vergara produced and at times wrote the scripts. He would cast beautiful, sensuous and well-built actresses in the movies, such as

Altia Michel Altia Herrera Michel (1929–1994) was a Mexican singer, dancer and film actress, who never took a movie role unless it was written specifically for her, where she used her own name, or an alternative spelling Althia Michel. Life and career She ...

and

Isela Vega Isela Vega Durazo (5 November 1939 – 9 March 2021) was a Mexican actress,Televisa ...

as a foil to complement the masculinity of the superheroes. In 1965, Santo walked out on producer Vergara over a contractual dispute, and Blue Demon suffered injuries and was thus unable to work. Vergara discovered

Aaron Rodriguez According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...

, a young luchador, and offered him to star as

. Máscaras was the first superhero/lucha libre personality created specifically for the movies, and he starred in 20 lucha films, including '' Enigma de muerte'' with

John Carradine John Carradine ( ; born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was an American actor, considered one of the greatest character actors in American cinema. He was a member of Cecil B. DeMille's stock company and later ...

and '' Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy'' with

El Hijo del Santo Jorge Ernesto Guzmán Rodríguez (born August 2, 1963) is a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler and political activist, best known under the ring name, El Hijo del Santo ("The Son of the Saint"). Guzmán is the yo ...

, Blue Demon Jr., and Huracan Ramirez Jr. Lucha films also starred other masked luchadores including Tinieblas (The Darkness), Rayo de Jalisco, Sr. (Lightning from Jalisco), El Medico Asesino (The Killer Doctor), El Fantasma Blanco (The White Ghost) and Superzan. The most successful luchador film in Mexico was ''Las Momias de Guanajuato'' ("The Mummies of Guanajuato"). In that 1970 film, El Santo, Blue Demon, and Mil Mascaras team up to battle a group of re-animated

mummies A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay fur ...

. When American producer

K. Gordon Murray K. Gordon Murray (1922–1979) was an American producer, most notable for his Dubbing (filmmaking), redubbing and re-releasing of foreign fairy tale films for U.S. audiences. He is often cited as the "King of the Kiddie Matinee." Murray also marke ...

bought the rights to three of Santo’s lucha libre films, he dubbed them into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

for domestic release and changed the name of the wrestling hero to "Samson". The best known luchador film made outside of Mexico is 1962's ''Santo vs. Las Mujeres Vampiro'' ("Samson vs. the Vampire Women"), which was featured in an episode of ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1 ...

''. ''Las Luchadoras'' ("The Wrestling Women") appeared in six films, the most famous being ''The Wrestling Women vs. the Aztec Mummy'' (1964) and ''Doctor of Doom'' (1962). The popularity of lucha films started to decline by the mid-1970s and essentially came to the end by 1976. However, such films are still being created including the trilogy of Mil Mascaras films beginning with 2007's '' Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy'' and followed by '' Academy of Doom'' and '' Aztec Revenge''.

References

External links

NPR audio clip discussing lucha films

From Parts Unknown (Pop-culture resource for Mexican wrestling, lucha films, and masks, notes on live appearances, blog and a discussion forum)

santoandfriends.com, Mexican lucha films
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucha Film Cinema of Mexico Film genres Lucha libre films

History

See also

References

External links