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August 30, 2007 (Los Angeles Times / Mexico City) -- During his long, sweaty career as a lucha libre wrestler and occasional B movie actor, El Hijo del Santo has grappled with borderland outlaws, green-faced vampire assassins and such fearsome adversaries as Negro Casas and Heavy Metal. Now he's battling opponents that are as hazardous and hard to pin down as any foe he has faced, including environmental radiation, child poverty and a system that he believes neglects the needs of many of his fellow stretchy-panted warriors. El Hijo del Santo, "The Son of the Saint," is arguably Mexico's most famous living luchador, or freestyle wrestler. Born Jorge Guzman here 44 years ago, El Hijo del Santo is the youngest child of El Santo, a.k.a. Rodolfo Guzman Huerta (1917-1984), a lucha libre legend whom many Mexicans regard as a national folk hero mentionable in the same breath as Emiliano Zapata or Pedro Infante. "I believe that the most valuable thing about El Santo as a person, as a human being, was that he was always a very humble man," says his son in Spanish, echoing the hagiographic tones that many countrymen use when speaking of the Saint. "He knew that when he put on the mask he turned into someone very famous, very beloved. When he took it off, well, he was a normal man." Though some experts regard El Hijo del Santo as a technically superior luchador to his famous father, El Santo fils hasn't yet equaled El Santo pere's silver screen accomplishments. El Santo made 58 movies, several of them camp masterpieces, with such titles as "Santo vs. the Diabolical Brain" and "Santo vs. the Zombies." But El Hijo del Santo is even more of a multimedia impresario, with a weekly radio show, a column in the Mexico City sports newspaper Record and a soon-to-be-launched Sears clothing line. Since inheriting his father's silver mask in the early 1980s and transforming himself from the less-colorful El Korak into El Hijo del Santo, he has become the official keeper of his dad's legacy, along with the lucrative licensing and merchandising rights that go with it. Today's lucha libre lacks some of the oversized, mega-marketable personalities such as El Santo and Blue Demon, who bestrode it like colossuses in decades past. But the pseudo-sport still draws large crowds in Mexico, as well as in Los Angeles and other U.S. cities. It also has acquired a certain retro cachet among hipsters who relish its kitschy morality-play aspect of Good Guys (tecnicos) vs. Bad Guys (rudos). Classic masks and other memorabilia from lucha libre's golden age sell well. A Cartoon Network animated series inspired by El Santo's exploits continues in production, and some prominent directors have toyed with the idea of making a biopic about the Saint. Initially, El Santo opposed his youngest child following him into the ring, wanting him to hit the books and go to college instead. El Hijo earned a degree in communication, but the glamour of donning leotards and a cape to the accompanying roar of the crowd was too much for him to resist. He inherited the El Santo mantle shortly before his father died, and at first, he admits, the inevitable comparisons stung him. Remarried now, with young children to raise, he says that middle age agrees with him. He dreams of opening more coffee shops in Los Angeles and Tokyo. And he has taken up painting, which he regards as "therapy." "In this moment in my life I am very proud of what I have obtained," he says. "And I know that El Santo, wherever he is, is very proud of his son because, yes, he has done many important things, not just in wrestling."
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VO ShopThe Crypt WallThorn105: *runs back in and waves to Klaudia and runs out*
-- Thu, Nov 20 12:37pm. Thorn105: *waving madly at LB* Hey, I've missed you all! I'll try to catch up in BRI soon
-- Thu, Nov 20 12:32pm. Salem: never seen it, i probly should though, anyone do anything interesting lately? im so bored!!!!!!!!!!!
-- Fri, Nov 14 10:28am. DEATH: Interesting costumes though
-- Thu, Nov 6 10:58am. Morbius: Good one, Ranger! Of course, there was much more drama last night
-- Wed, Nov 5 4:50pm. Ranger: Morbius, I watched that too, but last night. I think it was called something else though. Election Day Results '08 or something
-- Wed, Nov 5 3:47pm. About VOSupport VO!VO RadioNote: songs are uncensored and may contain explicit lyrics.
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