How a Mexican tearaway became a man of God, was trained as a wrestler, founded an orphanage and inspired 2 films, an anime and several video game characters!
Anno domini 2006 saw the release of a Jack Black comedy movie resplendent in the name Nacho Libre.
The title presumably confused the shit out of a lorra folks as it badly translates into English as "Free Nacho" (I'm undecided as to whether this was deliberate).
However, the sophisticates among us (i.e. SMARKS!) would instantly have recognised the reference to lucha libre ("free fight" or, more accurately, "freestyle fighting"), the Mexican form of professional wrestling.
The film's bizarre premise is that the main character, a monk, becomes a luchador (professional wrestler) in order to raise money for the orphanage at which he works.
What is more bizarre is that the film is based on a true story...
Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez was born into poverty in Mexico City, the 15th of 17 children. As a youngster he busked, sold ice lollies and cobbled together furniture in order to survive. He also discovered alcohol and drugs.
It was during this phase of substance abuse that Gutiérrez apparently had a hallucination in which he saw himself as a priest delivering communion in church. So inspired was the young man by the vision that he promptly went cold turkey (he has claimed the detox process took 72 hours, during which he was strapped to a bed) and joined a seminary of the Dominican Order. He was ordained in 1973 having travelled to Spain and, of course, Rome.
After a period of time spent teaching history and philosophy in Mexican colleges Gutiérrez settled in Texcoco (25 km NE of Mexico City) and, remembering his roots, began taking in abandoned children (at first in secret).
His cash-strapped superiors refused to grant him the money required to set up a proper orphanage to house the strays leaving the young priest with a problem. And, as a childhood fan of lucha libre who had observed the huge success of Mohammed Ali, he had the perfect solution. Become a professional wrestler to raise funds!
After months of training from a sympathetic luchador, the newly-named Fray Tormenta (Friar Storm), the Wrestling Priest, was ready to debut. In the Mexican tradition Tormenta would wear a mask (coloured gold for divinity and red for the blood of self-sacrifice) that would also serve the purpose of concealing his identity from the Catholic Church.
Gutiérrez imagined he would set the world on fire and make a million-or-so in one year, enough to retire from the ring and build the mother of all orphanages.
His first paypacket was approximately 20 bucks... He was in for the long haul.
Continues in Part 2
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