Thursday, May 10, 2012

Chicanonautica: The Cinema of Mil Máscaras



Let us now celebrate one of Mexico’s greatest cultural ambassadors, that great Latino artist and humanitarian, Mil Máscaras, the Man of  a Thousand Masks. He was recently made a member of  World Wrestling Entertainment’s Hall of Fame:


Not only has he successfully crossed the border from Mexican lucha libre into American professional wrestling, but he has had a long and impressive career in movies:


Santo and Blue Demon are great, but add Mil Máscaras -- especially when Rogelio Agrasanchez is producing -- to the mix, and you get a jolt of creativity that makes for cinematic mayhem that is both ecstatic as well as aesthetic. I particularly recommend El Robo de los Mumias de Guanajuato in which folklore and local color runs amok, Los Campeones Justicieros featuring a mad scientist and super-powered dwarves, and the utopian/apocalyptic Misterio en las Bermudas.
These and more can be seen on YouTube at Milmascarasvideo1’s channel. It’s a treasure trove of  clips of Míl Mascaras, UFOs, rock&roll, and of course, wrestling.


As for what he’s been up to recently:
 


Ernest Hogan has been struck with an exploding mass of inspiration for a fantasy novel about the preColumbian ball game, as if he didn’t have enough to do.

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