Mexico's El Santo Super Estrella films at the Cinematheque this Week

One thing that is so distinct in Mexican cinema is the Lucha films, and the pioneer of that distinct genre are the El Santo movies. The El Santo movies feature the iconic wrestler El Santo as he battles evil monsters, zombies, martians, and even vampire women. In real life, El Santo is one of the most famous and iconic of all Mexican luchadores, and has been referred to as one of "the greatest legends in Mexican sports" His wrestling career spanned nearly five decades, during which he became a folk hero and a symbol of justice for the common man through his appearances in comic books and movies. If you happen to have watched that Jack Black movie "Nacho Libre", well you might have gotten a glimpse of where their inspiration comes from. This week, the FDCP Cinematheque is featuring the classic El Santo movies, with their "El Santo Super Estrella" Film Cycle. It will run from July 29, 2014 to August 3, 2014. Admission is Free! The FDCP Cinematheque is located at B&C Square Bldg., Solis St., Iloilo City. [hit the jump to continue]

Santo en el Museo de Cera (Santo in the Wax Museum, 1963) aka Samson in the Wax Museum
Santo faces the sinister powers of Dr. Karol, a famed European surgeon who went mad after being imprisoned in a concentration camp, and who now directs the Wax Museum. When beautiful magazine photographer Susana disappears after visiting the museum, Santo will fight to rescue her before Dr. Karol, who “hates beauty”, transforms her into a living wax figure called “the Panther Woman.”
SCREENING SKEDS:
July 29, 2014 - Tuesday = 3:30 PM
August 2,2014 - Saturday = 1:30 PM
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Santo y Blue Demon Contra los Monstruos (Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monsters, 1969)
When Dr. Bruno Halder dies, Santo and Blue Demon share the suspicion that he was a criminal mastermind. Their suspicions are confirmed when Blue Demon witnesses Waldo, Dr. Halder’s assistant, carrying the doctor’s body back into his castle and bringing him back to life. When the re-animated doctor discovers Blue Demon, he clones him and sends the clone to kill Santo, along with a grotesque gallery of monsters which includes a Vampire, a Mummy, a Cyclops, a Werewolf and Frankenstein. Santo will have to find the castle and rescue Blue Demon, so they can destroy the monsters and their evil creator mano a mano.
SCREENING SKEDS:
July 29, 2014 - Tuesday = 5:30 PM
July 31, 2014 - Thursday = 3:30 PM
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Santo Contra Blue Demon en la Atlántida (Santo vs. Blue Demon in Atlantis, 1969)
Santo and Blue Demon face each other when a former Nazi scientist called Aquiles kidnaps Blue Demon and hypnotizes him at his underwater domain, sending him back to the surface with the mission of capturing Santo. Aquiles wants to impose a new world order in which humanity will be enslaved under his new “master race,” and the World Security Control depends on Special Agent Santo to fold the plot and save the world from the evil plans of Aquiles. Will Santo be able to stop Aquiles and bring Blue Demon back from Atlantis?
SCREENING SKEDS:
July 30, 2014 - Wednesday = 3:30 PM
August 1, 2014 - Friday = 5:30 PM
August 3, 2014 - Sunday = 1:30 PM
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Santo Contra las Lobas (Santo vs. the She-Wolves, 1972)
Luba, the queen of the werewolves, is re-born with the mission of destroying the human race and rule the earth, but Cesar Hacker, a member of a family that has battled werewolves for generations, contacts El Santo and informs him that it is foretold that only a “silver symbol” can destroy the werewolves, so “the man in the silver mask” reluctantly accepts the challenge. Licán, the king of the werewolves, ships himself from Transylvania to lead the clan in their fight against Santo, who will have to kill Licán by the night of the great red moon, or risk becoming a werewolf himself.
SCREENING SKEDS:
July 30, 2014 - Wednesday = 5:30 PM
August 1, 2014 - Friday = 3:30 PM
August 3, 2014 - Sunday = 3:30 PM
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Santo en Anónimo Mortal (Santo in "Anonymous Death Threat", 1972)
A series of mysterious murders are terrorizing the city. When Santo is called to protect Mario Gaos, a prominent businessman who has received an anonymous death threat, he will enter a web of intrigue and revenge, as he untangles a case of double identities and deceit designed by a mysterious Nazi commander named Von Struber, who was sentenced to the gallows back in Germany by a jury of anti-Nazi citizens.
SCREENING SKEDS:
July 31, 2014 - Thursday = 5:30 PM
August 2, 2014 - Saturday = 3:30 PM
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