The bell has rung and the Son of the Saint He has decided to go all out in this, his last fall. Yes, his agility is no longer the same, the moves are more difficult, but his technique and style remain intact. It’s been 42 years since his professional debut and 40 -to be celebrated this October 18- of wearing the most famous mask in the history of Mexican wrestling.
Yes, the Silver Masked Man He knows very well that it is time to say goodbye, that the day has come to avoid the third slap or the surrender key. All that remains is to say goodbye to his public, the one who embraced the continuation of the silver legend, in a tour that begins this Sunday 22nd -in tribute to his father who was born on September 23, 1917- at the Mexico City Arena.
For the man behind that mask, what does it mean to say goodbye to the ring as the Son of Santo?
Well, they are mixed feelings; The first was sadness, it was uncertaintywhether yes or no; then comes some sadness, feelings as well as longing, but also, on the other hand, I’m glad I made the decision to say goodbyebecause it’s been a long time, 42 years of activity. The man behind the mask also wants to do other things.
How was the moment when you realized that your father is the Saint?
I was very little, I would be about 7 years old and he invited me to his work. I knew that my father was a traveling salesman, which is what they called me. So, one Sunday he told me if I would accompany him to his work and we went to the El Cortijo bullring, in Romero Rubio, which no longer exists, and I was in the passenger seat, Carlitos Suárez was driving, and my father was in the back; we arrived at the Cortijo, and well, I saw a lot of people and suddenly people approached the car and started banging on the roof, and they started shouting Santo!, Santo!, Santo!, What was the surprise that the Saint came behind meIt was something very strong, because I would have liked someone to have explained to me a little what it was about, but the parents before were kind of rougher.
So you’re making your debut, but not as the Son of the Saint. Did you make that decision or did your father make it?
I never thought I would be called El Santo, I wanted to be called Acuario. One day, VÃctor MartÃnez, who made my dad’s uniforms, told me he wasn’t going to wrestle. I was already training and he said, “make your debut, friend.” I looked for my dad’s clothes, which I took without permission and made my own Korak outfit.and I went to fight in Santa Ana Chiautempan, there I debuted, and the accomplices of all this were my brothers.
Your dad knew his name was right with you, didn’t he?
Well, look, there were five of us brothers and I am the youngest of the five, and I think that in some way, all of us were given the opportunity to make films in some scenes, etc., but I was the last one, that is, the last opportunity left, because my brothers were already dedicated to other things; When he saw that I was so sure that I wanted to fight and that I wanted to be a professional wrestler, he gave me an exam at the Mexico Arena. And he was very pleased and he proposed that I be the Son of the Saint and then the Saint, and I was not going to say no.
Was it difficult?
At first, yes. Why? Well, because the press itself made a lot of comparisons, people, I mean, they didn’t believe in me very much, and my dad told me not to pay attention; even in the middle, because I don’t take off my mask and that was a reason for mockery, in the locker room they laughed in my face. Unfortunately, I think the door opened when my father passed away, because when he passed away, well, it was something very hard for the public in Mexico and in many places around the world, but I feel that people supported me afterwards.
In these 42 years, what was the greatest humiliation inflicted on the Son of the Saint?
I don’t know if you can call it humiliation, but Something that hurt me a lot was that the World Wrestling Council put up signs all over the Arena Mexico saying that whoever worked with the Son of Santo was out of the Arena Mexico.I mean, why? I didn’t deserve it, because I was always loyal to Mexico, I was a box office winner, I filled the Arena Mexico every time the program was full and then AAA did it for me, not Toño Peña, in 2010 when I returned to AAA, which I didn’t want to return, but I did it so as not to be resentful, because they tricked me, we agreed on a cheap amount, an amount of money and they never paid me.
Has wrestling changed a lot?
Yes, it has changed, It has changed and unfortunately, I think that the fighters of my generation and generations before us do not agree very much.In fact, there are new young people who fight very well and who have a lot of respect for wrestling, but there are others who have nothing to do with wrestling, and that damages wrestling.
And the legacy?
My legacy, well, I don’t know. He debuted in 2015. I’m happy with what I saw he did. I think he has all the bases to continue this legacy. But it was also important to go to university, to finish his degree. And now, well, he’s in music, but he’s also training. So, I don’t know, I hope he surprises me, but if there’s no third generation, it doesn’t matter. Because the history of Santo and the Son of Santo, well, they’ve been up there.
You say goodbye to the rings, but obviously the Son of the Saint continues, right?
Yes, yes, I will continue in public life. I have projects, I want to do projects that were pending, like the bioseries of the Saint, like publish a book, make my sanctuary public, a museumI’m still doing this, but I’m only doing it to protect my physical condition, my physical integrity. Because I know that, in 42 years, I’m still in one piece, thank God.
RGS
