Murciélago Velázquez
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jesús Velázquez Quintero (February 22, 1910 – May 26, 1972), better known under the
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...
s El Murciélago EnmascaradoLiterally translated as "Bat",
Murciélago Murciélago (Spanish for "Bat") was a Navarra Spanish Fighting Bull, fighting bull who gained fame after Lamborghini chose to name Lamborghini Murciélago, a supercar after him to continue the passion for bullfighting that Ferruccio Lamborghini, ...
was a legendary fighting bull whose amazing fighting spirit during a corrida in
Córdoba, Spain Córdoba ( ; ), or sometimes Cordova ( ), is a city in Andalusia, Spain, and the capital of the Province of Córdoba (Spain), province of Córdoba. It is the third most populated Municipalities in Spain, municipality in Andalusia. The city prim ...
on 5 October 1879 led to its his life being spared, becoming a byword for gallantry and indomitable courage in the Spanish-speaking world.
and Murciélago Velázquez, was a Mexican '' luchador'' (or
professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...
). Velázquez was the fourth wrestler in Mexico to wear a
wrestling mask A wrestling mask is a fabric-based mask that some professional wrestlers wear as part of their in-ring persona or gimmick. Professional wrestlers have been using masks as far back as 1915 and they are still widely used today, especially in Mexi ...
and the second Mexican to work as an ''enmascarado'' ("masked wrestler") in the history of ''lucha libre''. He became the first wrestler in Mexico to be forced to unmask, losing a ''
Lucha de Apuestas ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...
'' (or "Bet match") to Octavio Gaona, creating the most prestigious match type in ''lucha libre''. He once held the Mexican National Middleweight Championship and after his retirement was the head of the Mexico City boxing and wrestling commission for a while. Near the end of his in-ring career, Velázquez began acting in various Mexican films, including several ''luchador'' films, working both with El Santo and Blue Demon. He also became involved in the creative aspects of movie making, writing several screenplays and stories over the years. The last movie he wrote the story for, ''La mujer del diablo'', opened two years after his death.


Professional wrestling career

Jesús Velázquez made his professional wrestling debut on April 3, 1938 in the original Arena México, working for '' Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (EMLL). He started out his career wrestling as the '' enmascarado'' (Masked) character "El Murciélago Enmascarado". Velázquez was the fourth wrestler in Mexico to wrestle in a mask, and the second Mexican wrestler to do so, second only to "El Enmascarado" (The Masked Wrestler). Velázquez was one of the first native Mexicans to really play up the show aspects of ''
lucha libre ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...
'', wearing a black leather vest with a hood as he would stalk towards the ring and wrestle in black trunks and mask. His entrance theatrics would at times include him hiding a couple of live bats under his vest, releasing them in the arena during his in-ring introduction, letting them fly free among the audience. His rough, brutal in-ring wrestling style added to the aura of El Murciélago Enmascarado, quickly pushing him up the rankings as he was wrestler that drew fans by the fact that they wanted to see him lose. Within a few months of his debut he was wrestling against some of the top names in EMLL such as Bobby Bonales and Dientes Hernández. One of the defining moments of Velázquez' early career was his storyline feud with Merced Gómez that began only a few weeks after his debut. During a match against Gómez a kick from Velázquez hit Gómez in the face, knocking him down. Moments later the crowd was shocked to discover that Gómez' eye was missing, supposedly from the brutal kick from Velázquez. Gómez had actually lost the eye due to boxing several years prior and had a glass eye that he popped out after the kick to give the impression that Velázquez caused him to lose an eye. Some ''lucha'' magazines tried to claim that it was Gómez "good eye" that had been injured in the match, trying to keep the illusion that it was a legitimate injury, but the fact that Gómez would continue to wrestle for years underscored the fact that this was indeed a storyline. The storyline had its desired effect, portraying El Murciélago Enmascarado as a heartless villain or '' rudo''. In 1939, Velázquez participated in a tournament for the vacant Mexican National Middleweight Championship where he defeated the likes of Jack O'Brien and Ciclón Veloz but lost to eventual tournament winner Dientes Hernández. During the early parts of his career Velázquez also worked as a policeman, both to make money but also to gain access to the ''Casino de la Policia'' training facilities to further his physical abilities in the ring. In 1940, EMLL began a storyline between El Murciélago Enmascarado and Octavio Gaona that would lead to one of the pivotal moments of the early years of ''lucha libre''. In the United States masked wrestlers were common place and there had been matches where a masked wrestler was forced to unmask as far back as 1926 where Jim Londos defeated the Masked Marvel and he was forced to reveal himself to be Ray Steele. The storyline between played out in a way that the brutal ''rudo'' Murciélago drew the normally more technical Gaona into a series of brawls, matches that often ended inconclusively. After a particularly violent match Gaona challenged Murciélago to put his mask on the line in a match. With El Murciélago being lighter than Gaona he demanded that Gaona put his hair on the line as well. With the challenge, the ''
Lucha de Apuestas ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...
'' (or "Bet match") was created. In the build up to the high profile match El Murciélago Enmascarado faced and defeated a number of other wrestlers in ''Luchas de Apuestas'' matches leaving Merced Gómez, Bobby Bonales, Dientes Hernández and Ciclón Veloz bald as a result as they built to the match with Gaona. On July 14, 1940, Gaona defeated El Murciélago Enmascarado, forcing him to unmask after the match and reveal his birth name, something that became a ''lucha libre'' tradition. Since then ''Apuesta'' matches have become the highest profile match in Mexico; winning the mask of an opponent is considered a higher achievement than winning a championship match. After being unmasked he modified his ring name to Murciélago Velázquez and continued to be a hated ''rudo'' wrestler as his natural charisma was even more obvious without the mask. In 1942, Velázquez would gain a measure of revenge on Octavio Gaona when he defeated Gaona in the finals of a tournament for the vacant Mexican National Middleweight Championship. In the late 1930s, a young wrestler, Rodolfo Guzmán, began working as El Murciélago II in and around Mexico City, but Velázquez complained to the Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling Commission that the name was too close to his own ring name and that Velázquez had not given permission for the use. The Commission ruled that Velázquez had the rights to the name, forcing Guzmán to choose a different name. Guzmán adopted a new ring character, El Santo, and in subsequent years became one of the most popular wrestlers in Mexico. EMLL paired the two up for a long running feud that saw the masked El Santo defeat Velázquez in a ''Luchas de Apuestas'' match in January 1943, leaving Velázquez bald as a result. Two months later, on March 19, 1943, El Santo won the Mexican National Middleweight Championship from Velázquez as well. By the end of the year, other Mexican wrestlers, such as El Santo rose to the top, relegating Murciélago Velázquez to the lower ranks, working shows all over Mexico but not making as many headlines as his heyday from 1937 through 1942. In 1955, he experienced a career resurgence, teaming with Samar Saleem, forming a
tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...
that quickly gained a reputation for disregarding the rules and engaging in out of control brawls with their opponents. The team received a push from the promoters as they were given victories over Cavernario Galindo and El Verdungo, another team known for their wild wrestling style, as well as "Tough" Tony Borne and Tony Barbetta, El Santo and Pancho Valentino, ''Los Hermano Shadow'' ("The Shadow Brothers"; Black Shadow and Blue Panther) and the team of
Tarzán López Carlos López Tovar (28 August 1912 – 28 August 1975) was a Lucha libre, luchador who was active in the 1930s and 1940s, better known by the ring name Tarzán López. Known as "Tarzan" because of his bodybuilder's physique, Lopez held the Mexic ...
and Enrique Llanes. One particular match, against López and Henry Pilusso, got so out of hand and bloody that the Mexico City wrestling and boxing commissioner Manuel Muñoz decided to ban both Velázquez and Saleem from wrestling in Mexico City for life. The ban ended the team of Velázquez and Saleem as Velázquez left professional wrestling a short time later to become an actor. While he retired from in-ring competition in 1955, he never truly left ''lucha libre''. Over the years, he trained wrestlers such as Dick Angelo, Fili Espinoza and Humberto Garza. He also worked in several ''luchador'' films in his acting career. In the early 1960s he was the Distrito Federal boxing and wrestling commissioner, going from being a hated rule breaker to the highest authority.


Movie career

In 1957, Velázquez had a small, uncredited role in a Mexican movie called ''Ladron de Cadaveres'' ("The Body Snatcher"). He made his first credited on screen appearance in '' La momia Azteca'', where he played a villain known as ''El Murciélago'' and being billed as "Murciélago" Velázquez, taking his ring name onto the silver screen. Over the next 10 years, Velázquez had roles in a number of different films, including ''luchador'' films starring El Santo and Blue Demon. During this time period, he also began writing screenplays and stories, the first being ''Triunfa la pandilla'' ("The triumphant gang") that premiered in 1963. Among his other credits were '' El mundo de los vampiros'' ("The world of Vampires"), '' Tlayucan'' and ''Santo contra los jinetes del terror'' ("Santo vs. the Riders of Terror"). The final movie he wrote the story for, ''La mujer del diablo'' ("The Devil Woman"), opened in 1974, a year after Velázquez' death.


Personal life

While Velázquez' in-ring character was brutal and bloodthirsty, the man behind the character was the complete opposite, something not revealed publicly until years after his death. His wrestling peers described him as very friendly and well-read. Velázquez stayed active, writing movie scripts and various stories until his death on May 27, 1972. The autopsy revealed that Velázquez died from
cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, chronic liver failure or chronic hepatic failure and end-stage liver disease, is a chronic condition of the liver in which the normal functioning tissue, or parenchyma, is replaced ...
of the liver which led to a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
.


Championships and accomplishments

* Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre :* Mexican National Middleweight Championship ( 1 time)


''Luchas de Apuestas'' record


Filmography

Actor Writer


Footnotes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velazquez, Murcielago 1910 births 1972 deaths 20th-century Mexican male actors Mexican male film actors Mexican male professional wrestlers Masked wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Guanajuato Mexican National Middleweight Champions