The Legendary Santo El Enmascarado de Plata!
By Cathryn Wriska
Santo Contra los Zombies concludes the Hot Sweaty and Weird summer series with a Mexican subculture classic! Following the theme of cult-classic films, the Senate turns towards the niche genre of lucha libre! Santo Contra los Zombies (Santo vs. the Zombies) is a pulp-style film that follows luchador Santo El Enmascarado de Plata as he attempts to take on a wave a zombies that local authorities are unable to handle.
Like classic superhero movies, this is an action/adventure style film where Santo takes the role as the lead hero. While the film blends genres, it stays true to its cultural roots of the luchador and features multiple wrestling matches, where Santo shows his talent and fighting prowess. Santo and other luchador films hold much importance in Mexican culture.
Before his time starring in films, Santo was a professional wrestler and is considered one of the greatest legends in Mexican sports. His career began in the early 1940’s and after dozens of wrestling wins, skyrocketed into the film industry that immortalized his fame and cultural impact in the wrestling matches featured in his films. Spanning 26 years, Santo was continuously wrestling throughout the filming of 54 movies!
The iconic masks Santo and other wrestlers wear are not just costumes for embellishment, but a form of artistic expression that incorporates the wrestler’s values, fears, beliefs, and traditions. This much care put into the design of lucha libre masks morphs those wearing them from normal people, into fearless superheroes. Santo’s influence contributed to the cultural importance of the mask; he was famously known for never removing his.
His role in the wrestling world was not confined to Mexico however. The popularity of lucha libre/performance style wrestling translated across the globe. U.S. wrestling adopted the lucha libre style in the early 1930’s and became popularized through televised fights throughout the 1950’s. Hulk Hogan is an example of an Americanized lucha libre style wrestler! This style of fighting was so influential even Japanese wrestlers adopted it into their fighting culture.
The luchador impact does not stop with just the fighting style. In 2018, 34 years after his passing, El Santo was inducted in the WWE hall of fame and an animated version of him was even featured in Disney’s Coco!
Santo Contra los Zombies is the first time he played the lead in a films; he previously played a sidekick to two heroes in the movies, Cerebros del Mal and Hombres Infernales. The role Santo plays on-screen is very reminiscent of the role he plays in real life. The impact of his work in Mexico and across the world has made him ad a folk hero in Mexican culture.
Please join us to watch the Mexican folk hero in action as the luchador culture continues with the Senate’s showing of Santo Contra Los Zombies on August 10th. In Spanish with English subtitles. This is a FREE outdoor screening in the Coney Lot next to the Senate. Don’t forget to bring your chair!