Alfonso III (c. 848 – December 910), called the Great, was the king of León, Galicia and Asturias from 866 until his death. He was the son and successor of Ordoño I. In later sources he is the earliest to be called "Emperor of Spain". He was also titled "Prince of all Galicia" (Princeps totius Galletiae^[1]).

Little is known about Alfonso except the bare facts of his reign and of his comparative success in consolidating the kingdom during the weakness of the Umayyad princes of Córdoba. He fought against and gained numerous victories over the Muslims of al-Andalus, nonetheless his kingdom was always inferior to that of the Cordobans, and he was thus forced to pay them tribute.

He defeated a Basque rebellion in 867 and, much later, a Galician one as well. He conquered Oporto and Coimbra in 868 and 878 respectively. In about 869, he formed an alliance with the Kingdom of Pamplona, and solidified this link by marrying Jimena, who is thought to have been daughter of king García Íñiguez, or less likely, a member of the Jiménez dynasty, and also married his sister Leodegundia to a prince of Pamplona.

He ordered the creation of three chronicles which presented the theory that the kingdom of Asturias was the rightful successor of the old Visigothic kingdom. He was also a patron of the arts, like his grandfather before him. He built the church of Santo Adriano de Tuñón. According to a letter of disputed authenticity dated to 906, the Epistola Adefonsi Hispaniae regis, Alfonso arranged to purchase an "imperial crown" from the cathedral of Tours.^[2]

A year before his death, three of Alfonso's sons rose in rebellion and forced him to abdicate, partitioning the kingdom among them. The eldest son, García, became king of León. The second son, Ordoño, reigned in Galicia, while the third, Fruela, received Asturias with Oviedo as his capital. Alfonso died in Zamora, probably in 910. His former realm would be reunited when first García died childless and León passed to Ordoño. He in turn died when his children were too young to ascend, Fruela became king of a reunited crown. His death the next year initiated a series of internecine struggles that led to unstable succession for over a century.

References[link]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in the Spanish Wikipedia. (June 2011) Don't speak Spanish? Click here to read a machine-translated version of the Spanish article. Click [show] on the right to review important translation instructions before translating. Google's machine translation is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. After translating, {{Translated|es|Fernando III de Castilla}} must be added to the talk page to ensure copyright compliance. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Ferdinand III Ferdinand III in a 13th century miniature King of Castile and Toledo Reign 1217–1252 Predecessor Berengaria Successor Alfonso X King of León and Galicia Reign 1230–1252 Predecessor Alfonso IX Successor Alfonso X Consort Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen Joan, Countess of Ponthieu among others... Issue Alfonso X of Castile Frederick Henry Philip, Archbishop of Seville Sancho, Archbishop of Seville John Manuel, Lord of Villena Eleanor, Queen of England House House of Burgundy Father Alfonso IX of León Mother Berengaria of Castile Born (1199-08-05)5 August 1199 Monastery of Valparaíso Died 30 May 1252(1252-05-30) (aged 52) Seville Burial Seville Cathedral Religion Roman Catholicism

Saint Ferdinand III, T.O.S.F. Honored in Secular Franciscan Order, Roman Catholic Church Canonized 1671, Rome by Pope Clement X Major shrine Seville Cathedral; Feast 30 May Patronage University of Salamanca; Cathedral of Burgos; Cathedral of Sevilla; of friars (Dominican, Franciscan, Trinitarian, and Mercedarian);Lucena City, Quezon; City of San Fernando, Pampanga; Metropolitan Cathedral of San Fernando; (Cathedral of Resistencia, Argentina)

Saint Ferdinand III, T.O.S.F., (5 August 1199 – 30 May 1252) was the King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of Castile. Through his second marriage he was also Count of Aumale. Ferdinand III was one of the most successful kings of Castile, securing not only the permanent union of the crowns of Castile and León, but also masterminding the most expansive campaign of Reconquista yet. By military and diplomatic effort, Ferdinand III greatly expanded the dominions of Castile into southern Spain, annexing many of the great old cities of al-Andalus, including the old Andalusian capitals of Córdoba and Seville, and establishing the boundaries of the Castilian state for the next two centuries. He was canonized in 1671 by Pope Clement X and, in Spanish, he is known as Fernando el Santo, San Fernando or San Fernando Rey.

Early life[link]

Ferdinand was born at the monastery of Valparaíso (Peleas de Arriba, in what is now the Province of Zamora) in 1198-99.

His parents' marriage was annulled by order of Pope Innocent III in 1204, due to consanguinity. Berengaria took their children, including Ferdinand, to the court of her father, Alfonso VIII of Castile. In 1217, her younger brother Henry I died and she succeeded him to the Castilian throne, but immediately surrendered it to her son, Ferdinand, for whom she initially acted as regent.

Unification of Castile-León[link]

United arms of Castile and León which Ferdinand first used.

When his father, Alfonso IX of León, died in 1230, his will delivered the kingdom to his older daughters Sancha and Dulce, from his first marriage to Theresa of Portugal. But Ferdinand contested the will, and claimed the inheritance for himself. At length, an agreement was reached, negotiated primarily between their mothers, Berengaria and Theresa, and signed at Benavente on December 11, 1230, by which Ferdinand would receive the Kingdom of León, in return for a substantial compensation in cash and lands for his half-sisters, Sancha and Dulce. Ferdinand thus became the first sovereign of both kingdoms since the death of Alfonso VII in 1157.

Early in his reign, Ferdinand had to deal with a rebellion of the House of Lara.

Conquest of al-Andalus[link]

Since the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 halted the advance of the Almohads in Spain, a series of truces had kept Castile and the Almohad dominions of al-Andalus more-or-less at peace. However, a crisis of succession in the Almohad Caliphate after the death of Yusuf II in 1224 opened to Ferdinand III an opportunity for intervention. The Andalusian-based claimant, Abdallah al-Adil, began to ship the bulk of Almohad arms and men across the straits to Morocco to contest the succeession with his rival there, leaving al-Andalus relatively undefended. Al-Adil's rebellious cousin, Abdallah al-Bayyasi (the Baezan), appealed to Ferdinand III for military assistance against the usurper. In 1225, a Castilian army accompanied al-Bayyasi in a campaign, ravaging the regions of Jaén, vega de Granada and, before the end of the year, had successfully installed al-Bayyasi in Córdoba. In payment, al-Bayyasi gave Ferdinand the strategic frontier strongholds of Baños de la Encina, Salvatierra (the old Order of Calatrava fortress near Ciudad Real) and Capilla (the last of which had to be taken by siege). When al-Bayyasi was rejected and killed by a popular uprising in Cordoba shortly after, the Castilians remained in occupation of al-Bayyasi's holdings in Andújar, Baeza and Martos.

The crisis in the Almohad Caliphate, however, remained unresolved. In 1228, a new Almohad pretender, Abd al-Ala Idris I 'al-Ma'mun', decided to abandon Spain, and left with the last remnant of the Almohad forces for Morocco. Al-Andalus was left fragmented in the hands of local strongmen, only loosely led by Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Hud al-Judhami. Seeing the opportunity, the Christian kings of the north - Ferdinand III of Castile, Alfonso IX of León, James I of Aragon and Sancho II of Portugal - immediately launched a series of raids on al-Andalus, renewed almost every year. There were no great battle encounters - Ibn Hud's makeshift Andalusian army was destroyed early on, while attempting to stop the Leonese at Alange in 1230. The Christian armies romped through the south virtually unopposed in the field. Individual Andalusian cities were left to resist or negotiate their capitulation by themselves, with little or no prospect of rescue from Morocco or anywhere else.

The twenty years from 1228 to 1248 saw the most massive advance in the Christian reconquista yet. In this great sweep, most of the great old citadels of al-Andalus fell one by one. Ferdinand III took the lion's share of the spoils - Badajoz and Mérida (which had fallen to the Leonese), were promptly inherited by Ferdinand in 1230; then by his own effort, Cazorla in 1231, Úbeda in 1233, the old Umayyad capital of Córdoba in 1236, Niebla and Huelva in 1238, Écija and Lucena in 1240, Orihuela and Murcia in 1243 (by the famous 'pact of Alcaraz'), Arjona, Mula and Lorca in 1244, Cartagena in 1245, Jaén in 1246, Alicante in 1248 and finally, on December 22, 1248, Ferdinand III entered as a conqueror in Seville, the greatest of Andalusian cities. At the end of this twenty-year onslaught, only a rump Andalusian state, the Emirate of Granada, remained unconquered (and even so, Ferdinand III managed to extract a tributary arrangement from Granada in 1238).

Ferdinand III annexed some of his conquests directly into the Crown of Castile, and others were initially received and organized as vassal states under Muslim governors (e.g. Alicante, Niebla, Murcia), although they too were eventually permanently occupied and absorbed into Castile before the end of the century (Niebla in 1262, Murcia in 1264, Alicante in 1266). Outside of these vassal states, Christian rule could be heavy-handed on the new Muslim subjects. This would eventually lead to the mudéjar uprisings of 1264-66, which resulted in mass expulsions of the Muslim populations. The range of Castilian conquests also sometimes transgressed into the spheres of interest of other conquerors. Thus, along the way, Ferdinand III took care to carefully negotiate with the other Christian kings to avoid conflict, e.g. the treaty of Almizra (26 March, 1244) which delineated the Murcian boundary with James I of Aragon.

Ferdinand divided the conquered territories between the Knights, the Church, and the nobility, whom he endowed with great latifundias. When he took Córdoba, he ordered the Liber Iudiciorum to be adopted and observed by its citizens, and caused it to be rendered, albeit inaccurately, into Castilian.

The capture of Córdoba was the result of a well-planned and executed process whereby parts of the city (the Ajarquía) first fell to the independent almogavars of the Sierra Morena to the north, which Ferdinand had not at the time subjugated.^[1] Only in 1236 did Ferdinand arrive with a royal army to take the Medina, the religious and administrative centre of the city.^[1] Ferdinand set up a council of partidores to divide the conquests and between 1237 and 1244 a great deal of land was parcelled out to private individuals and members of the royal family as well as to the Church.^[2] On 10 March 1241, Ferdinand established seven outposts to define the boundary of the province of Córdoba.

Domestic policy[link]

On the domestic front, he strengthened the University of Salamanca and founded the current cathedral of Burgos. He was a patron of the newest movement in the Church, that of the friars. Whereas the Benedictines and then the Cistercians and Cluniacs had taken a major part in the Reconquista up until then, Ferdinand founded Dominican, Franciscan, Trinitarian, and Mercedarian houses in Andalusia, thus determining the religious future of that region. Ferdinand has also been credited with sustaining the convivencia in Andalusia.^[3] He himself joined the Third Order of St. Francis, and is honored in that Order.

Death[link]

Ferdinand III had started out as a contested king of Castile. By the time of his death in 1252, Ferdinand III had delivered to his son and heir, Alfonso X, a massively expanded kingdom. The boundaries of the new Castilian state established by Ferdinand III would remain nearly unchanged until the late 1400s. His biographer, Sr. Maria del Carmen Fernández de Castro Cabeza, asserts that, on his death bed, Ferdinand said to his son "you will be rich in land and in many good vassals, more than any other king in Christendom."^[4]

Ferdinand was buried in the cathedral of Seville by his son Alfonso X. His tomb is inscribed in four languages: Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, and an early version of Castilian.^[5] He was canonized as St. Ferdinand by Pope Clement X in 1671. Today Saint Fernando can still be seen in the Cathedral of Seville, for he rests enclosed in a marvelous gold and crystal casket worthy of the king. His golden crown still encircles his head as he reclines beneath the statue of the Virgin of the Kings.^[6] Several places named San Fernando were founded across the Spanish Empire in his honor.

The symbol of his power as a king was his sword Lobera.

Family[link]

First marriage[link]

In 1219, Ferdinand married Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen (1203–1235), daughter of the German king Philip of Swabia and Irene Angelina. Elisabeth was called Beatriz in Spain. Their children were:

1. Alfonso X, his successor
2. Frederick
3. Ferdinand (1225–1243/1248)
4. Eleanor (born 1227), died young
5. Berengaria (1228–1288/89), a nun at Las Huelgas
6. Henry
7. Philip (1231–1274). He was promised to the Church, but was so taken by the beauty of Christina of Norway, daughter of Haakon IV of Norway, who had been intended as a bride for one of his brothers, that he abandoned his holy vows and married her. She died in 1262, childless.
8. Sancho, Archbishop of Toledo and Seville (1233–1261)
9. John Manuel, Lord of Villena
10. Maria, died an infant in November 1235

Second marriage[link]

After he was widowed, he married Joan, Countess of Ponthieu, before August 1237. They had four sons and one daughter:

1. Ferdinand (1239–1260), Count of Aumale
2. Eleanor (c.1241–1290), married Edward I of England
3. Louis (1243–1269)
4. Simon (1244), died young and buried in a monastery in Toledo
5. John (1245), died young and buried at the cathedral in Córdoba

Ancestry[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Fernández de Castro Cabeza, Sr. Maria del Carmen, The Life of the Very Noble King of Castile and León, Saint Ferdinand III (Mount Kisco, N.Y.: The Foundation for a Christian Civilization, Inc., 1987)
• González, Julio. Reinado y Diplomas de Fernando III, i: Estudio. 1980.
• Menocal, María Rosa. The Ornament of the World. Little, Brown and Company: Boston, 2002. ISBN 0-316-16871-8
• Edwards, John. Christian Córdoba: The City and its Region in the Late Middle Ages. Cambridge University Press: 1982.
• Fitzhenry, James. "Saint Fernando III, A Kingdom for Christ." Catholic Vitality Publications, St. Mary's, KS, 2009. http://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/saintfernando.html

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ferdinand III of Castile

• Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Ferdinand III
• Ferdinand at Patron Saints Index
• http://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/saintfernando.html
• The death of Saint Ferdinand III, the very noble King of Castile and Leon

v t e Monarchs of Castile House of Jiménez Ferdinand I  · Sancho II  · Alfonso VI  · Urraca House of Burgundy Alfonso VII  · Sancho III  · Alfonso VIII  · Henry I  · Berengaria  · Ferdinand III  · Alfonso X  · Sancho IV  · Ferdinand IV  · Alfonso XI  · Peter House of Trastámara Henry II  · John I  · Henry III  · John II  · Henry IV  · Isabella I & Ferdinand V  · Joanna & Philip I

v t e Monarchs of León Beni Alfons Alfonso III  · García I  · Ordoño II  · Fruela II  · Alfonso IV  · Ramiro II  · Ordoño III  · Sancho I  · Ordoño IV  · Sancho I  · Ramiro III  · Bermudo II  · Alfonso V  · Bermudo III House of Jiménez Ferdinand I  · Sancho II  · Alfonso VI  · Urraca House of Burgundy Alfonso VII  · Ferdinand II  · Alfonso IX  · Ferdinand III  · Alfonso X  · Sancho IV  · Ferdinand IV  · Alfonso XI  · Peter House of Trastámara Henry II  · John I  · Henry III  · John II  · Henry IV  · Isabella I & Ferdinand V  · Joanna & Philip I House of Habsburg Charles I

Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta
Santo's mask
Ring name(s)	Santo (Saint) El Santo (The Saint) Santo, el Enmascarado de Plata (Saint, the Silver Masked Man) Rudy Guzmán El Hombre Rojo (The Red Man) El Demonio Negro (The Black Demon) El Murcielago II (The Bat II)
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Born	01917-09-23September 23, 1917 Tulancingo, Hidalgo, Mexico
Died	February 5, 1984(1984-02-05) (aged 66)
Debut	1934 or 1935
Retired	01982-09-12September 12, 1982

Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (September 23, 1917 – February 5, 1984), more widely known as El Santo (the Saint), was a Mexican Luchador enmascarado (Spanish for masked professional wrestler), film actor, and folk icon. El Santo, along with Blue Demon and Mil Máscaras, 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"^[1][2][3] 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. He is said to have popularized professional wrestling in Mexico just as Rikidozan did in Japan.^[3] Guzmán's son followed him into wrestling as El Hijo del Santo, or 'Son of Santo'.

Biography[link]

Born in Tulancingo in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, to Jesús Guzmán Campuzano and Josefina Huerta (Márquez) de Guzmán as the fifth of seven children, Rodolfo came to Mexico City in the 1920s, where his family settled in the Tepito neighbourhood.^[2][3] He practiced baseball and American football, and then became interested in wrestling. He first learned Ju-Jitsu, then classical wrestling.^[4]

Pro wrestling career[link]

Accounts vary as to exactly when and where he first wrestled competitively, either in Arena Peralvillo Cozumel on 28 June 1934, or Deportivo Islas in the Guerrero colony of Mexico City in 1935, but by the second half of the 1930s, he was established as a wrestler, using the names Rudy Guzmán, El Hombre Rojo (the Red Man), El Demonio Negro (The Black Demon) and El Murcielago II (The Bat II). The last name was a rip-off of the name of a famous wrestler Jesus Velazquez named "El Murcielago" (The Bat), and after an appeal by the Bat to the Mexican boxing and wrestling commission, the regulatory body ruled that Guzmán could not use the name.^[3]

El Santo[link]

In the early 1940s, Guzmán married María de los Ángeles Rodríguez Montaño (Maruca), a union that would produce 10 children; their names were Alejandro, María de los Ángeles, Héctor Rodolfo, Blanca Lilia, Víctor Manuel, Miguel Ángel, Silvia Yolanda, María de Lourdes, Mercedes, and the youngest child Jorge, who also became a famous wrestler in his own right, El Hijo del Santo (Son of Santo).^[3] In 1942, Rodolfo's manager, Don Jesús Lomelí, was putting together a new team of wrestlers, all dressed in silver, and wanted Rodolfo to be a part of it. He suggested three names, El Santo (The Saint), El Diablo (The Devil), or El Angel (The Angel), and Rodolfo chose the first one. On 26 June, aged 24, he wrestled at the Arena Mexico for the first time as El Santo, although he later was known simply as "Santo". Under this new name he quickly found his style.^[2][3]

One of Santo's greatest matches was in 1952, when he fought a tag-team known as Los Hermanos Shadow (which consisted of famed luchadors Blue Demon and the Black Shadow). Santo beat and unmasked Black Shadow in the ring, which triggered Blue Demon's decision to become a técnico, as well as a legendary feud between Blue Demon and Santo that culminated in Santo's defeat in a well-publicized series of matches in 1952 and again in 1953. Although they appeared together in a number of action/adventure films, their rivalry never really ended in later years since Santo always remembered his defeat at Blue Demon's hands.^[2][3]

Retirement[link]

By the early 1980s El Santo slowed down his in ring activities leading up to his inevitable retirement. His farewell tour was announced for August and September 1982. the first of three events took place on August 22, 1982 at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City. On that night El Santo teamed up with El Solitario to take on Villano III and Rokambole in a match that naturally saw the legends win. After the match Villano and Rokamble lifted El Santo up on their shoulders as he received the adulation of the sold out arena. The following Sunday El Santo appeared at Arena México where he teamed up with Gran Hamada to defeat Villano I and Scorpio, Jr.^[5] Santo's last match took place on September 12, 1982, a week before his 65th birthday.^[3] In his last match ever El Santo teamed up with Gory Guerrero who came out of retirement to reform "La Pareja Atómica" as they teamed up with Huracán Ramirez and El Solitario. Their opponents included one of El Santo's biggest rivals in Perro Aguayo as well as El Signo, Negro Navarro and El Texano. True to the legend of El Santo he won his last match and retired as the hero he always portrayed in the ring and on the screen. His retirement tour was also used to introduce Santo's son Jorge as the next generation El Santo as he was ringside at each show wearing the silver mask and being introduced as El Hijo del Santo.^[5]

Death[link]

Just over a year after his retirement (in late January 1984), El Santo was a guest on Contrapunto, a Mexican television program and, completely without warning, removed his mask just enough to expose his face, in effect bidding his fans goodbye.^[3] It is the only documented case of Santo ever removing his mask in public.^[2] Santo died from a heart attack (during a stage show he was putting on) on February 5, 1984, at 9:40 p.m., a week after his Contrapunto TV appearance. As per his wishes, he was buried wearing his famous silver mask. His funeral is considered one of the biggest in Mexican history as fans and friends flocked to see "el Enmascarado de Plata" (The Silver-Masked One) one last time. After his death, a statue of El Santo was erected in his home town of Tulancingo and other statues have been created since then.^[3]

Legacy[link]

The legend of El Santo lives on to this very day both inside and outside the wrestling ring. Santo's youngest son with his first wife, Jorge carries on the legend of the Silver Mask, wrestling as El Hijo del Santo wearing the silver mask, cape and outfit that is very close to what his father used to wear. While El Hijo del Santo is not as big an icon as his father he is considered a more technically proficient wrestler.^[6][7]

In the early 1960s a female wrestler called La Novia del Santo (Spanish for "the Bride of El Santo") worked the Mexican circuit. Under the silver mask was Irma González, a well-known wrestler who had promised her fiancé that she'd stop wrestling, but went back in the ring under a mask when she could not resist the draw of competition. La Novia got El Santo's blessing to use the name and is the only non-family member ever given the right to use the Santo name. Gonzáles only wrestled as "La Novia del Santo" for 7 months until she got married. Later on, a homosexual wrestler adopted the "La Novia del Santo" name but El Santo took action and put an end to the impostor's use of the name.^[8]

Recently one of El Santo's 25 grandchildren made his professional debut. After gaining some seasoning under different identities "??" began working as "El Nieto del Santo" (Spanish for "the Grandson of Santo"). El Hijo Del Santo took legal actions to prevent this as he owns all "El Santo" rights when it comes to wrestling, presumably because he himself is planning on letting one of his own sons use the "El Nieto del Santo" name. These days, the grandson of El Santo works as "Axxel" and only uses "El Nieto del Santo" as an unofficial nickname to avoid any legal issues. Axxel uses the same trademark mask, cape and trunk design as El Santo but has incorporated black trim and knee pads, presumably not to infringe on the legal rights of El Hijo del Santo.

Movie career[link]

In 1952, the artist and editor José G. Cruz started a Santo comic book, turning Santo into the first and foremost character in Mexican popular literature, his popularity only rivalled by the legendary Kalimán character. The Santo comic book series (four different volumes) ran continuously for 35 years, ending in 1987.

Also in 1952, a superhero motion picture serial was made entitled "The Man in the Silver Mask", which was supposed to star Santo, but he declined to appear in it, because he thought it would fail commercially. The film was made instead with well-known luchador El Médico Asesino in the lead role, wearing a white mask similar to Santo's silver one. A villain named "The Silver-Masked Man" was introduced into the plot at the last minute, thus the title of the film strangely became a reference to the villain, not the hero.

In 1958, Fernando Osés, a wrestler and actor, invited Santo to work in movies, and although Santo was unwilling to give up his wrestling career, he accepted, planning to do both at the same time. Oses was planning on playing the hero in these films, with Santo appearing as his costumed sidekick. Fernando Osés and Enrique Zambrano wrote the scripts for the first two movies, el Cerebro del Mal (The Evil Brain) and Hombres Infernales (The Infernal Men), both released in 1958, and directed by Joselito Rodríguez. Filming was done in Cuba, and ended just the day before Fidel Castro entered Havana and declared the victory of the revolution. Santo played a masked superhero-type sidekick to the main hero (who was called El Incognito) in these two films, and was not the main character (nor was he depicted as a wrestler in these 2 films). The films did poorly at the box office when they were released. Years later however, when Santo's film career took off, the distributors of these two films quietly added Santo's name into the titles. Most people feel Santo's film career really took off in 1961, with his third movie "Santo Vs The Zombies." Santo was given the starring role with this film, and was shown for the first time as a professional wrestler moonlighting as a superhero.

Santo wound up appearing in a total of 52 lucha libre films in all, two of which were just cameo appearances. The style of the movies was essentially the same throughout the series, with Santo as a superhero fighting supernatural creatures, evil scientists, various criminals/ secret agents and so on. The tones were reminiscent of U.S. B-movies and TV shows, perhaps most similar to the old Republic Pictures serials of the 1940s.

His best-known movie outside of Mexico is also considered one of his best, 1962s Santo vs. las Mujeres Vampiro (Santo vs. the Vampire Women), which was also featured in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. In this movie, the production values were better, and there was an attempt at creating more a mythos and background for Santo, as the last of a long line of fighters against evil. It was an enormous success at the box office, and was one of the 4 Santo films ever to be dubbed in English. Some of these English films were imported to the United States through the efforts of K. Gordon Murray who changed the name of Santo to Samson for some of his releases. Santo's most financially successful film however was "The Mummies of Guanajuato" (1970), which co-starred Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras. Many Mexi-movie fans consider it to be the greatest luchador film ever made.

The Santo film series inspired the production of similar series of movies starring other well-known luchadores such as Blue Demon, Mil Mascaras, Superzan and the Wrestling Women, among others. Santo even co-starred with Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras in several of his movies. When Blue Demon invited Santo to co-star with him and Mil Mascaras in the "Champions of Justice" movie trilogy, however, Santo was too busy making other films to participate.

By 1977, the masked wrestler film craze had practically died off, but Santo continued to appear in more films over the next few years. His last film was "FURY OF THE KARATE EXPERTS", shot in Florida in 1982, the same year he retired from the ring. Santo officially retired from wrestling on Sept. 12, 1982 (a week before his 65th birthday). His last match was at the El Toreo de Cuatro Caminos in Mexico. All told, his professional wrestling career spanned a total of 48 years.

Santo appeared as a guest on Contrapunto, a Mexican television program and, completely without warning, removed his mask just enough to expose his face. It is the only documented case of Santo ever removing his mask in public. Santo died from a heart attack on Feb. 5, 1984, at 9:40 p.m. (about a week after his Contrapunto TV appearance). He was 66 years old. As per his wishes, he was buried wearing his famous silver mask.

Other media appearances[link]

Santo also became an animated mini-series on Cartoon Network in Latin America. On October 27, 2004, Cartoon Network released the first chapter of 5 shorts. Each chapter is about 2 minutes long, and they were shown weekly on Wednesday nights at 8:00 PM. There is also currently another Santo series in development at Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank. The mini series was inspired by Santo's classic movies. Santo fought against an evil scientist, Dr. Clone, who collected the DNA of Santo's previous foes and resurrected them to kill Santo and dominate the world.

El Santo also inspired the animated series Mucha Lucha and El Tigre: The Adventures of Manny Rivera. In Mucha Lucha he's called "El Rey", and it's represented as an icon of all positive things. In El Tigre, the character White Pantera shares much of El Santo's ever optimist attitude from the movies, but there's also a character named Silver Sombrero who is an exact copy of Santo, except he wears a large Mexican hat.

Santo is immortalized in the rockabilly band Southern Culture on the Skids' 1996 album Santo Swings!/Viva el Santo. Santo is often resurrected in Southern Culture's live performances when an audience member jumps onstage donning Santo's mask. The Latin ska band King Changó released an album titled The Return of El Santo. A Turkish actor portrayed an unlicensed version of Santo in the infamous bootleg Turkish film 3 dev adam. In addition the 2001 Canadian cult film, Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, also features an unlicensed version of El Santo as one of Christ's monster hunting associates.

He also is referred by Mexican rock band Botellita de Jerez in their song Santo, where they told Santo's victories in the ring and in the movies as well as the big respect he got as a Mexican movie hero, in the song they parody songs like the Batman TV Series's theme along as some religious songs.

Santo filmography (in chronological order)[link]

• Santo contra el cerebro del mal (Santo Vs. The Evil Brain, 1958)^[9][10]
• Santo contra hombres infernales (Santo vs. The Infernal Men, 1958)^[9][10]
• Santo contra los zombies (Santo vs. The Zombies, 1961) aka Invasion of the Zombies (dubbed in English)^[9][10]
• Santo contra el rey del crimen (Santo vs. The King of Crime, 1961)^[9][10]
• Santo en el hotel de la muerte (Santo In The Hotel of Death, 1961)^[9][10]
• Santo contra el cerebro diabolico (Santo vs. the Diabolical Brain, 1962)^[9][10]
• Santo contra las mujeres vampiro (Santo vs. The Vampire Women, 1962) aka Samson vs. the Vampire Women (dubbed in English)^[9][10]
• Santo en el museo de cera (Santo In The Wax Museum, 1963) aka Samson in the Wax Museum (dubbed in English)^[9][10]
• Santo contra el estrangulador (Santo vs. The Strangler, 1963)^[9][10]
• El espectro del estrangulador (Santo vs. The Ghost of the Strangler, 1963)^[9][10]
• Blue Demon contra el poder satánico (Blue Demon vs. Satanic Power, 1964) (cameo appearance)^[9][10]
• Santo en Atacan las brujas (Santo in The Witches Attack, 1964) aka Santo en la casa de las brujas^[9][10]
• El hacha diabólica (Santo in The Diabolical Axe, 1964)^[9][10]
• Santo en los profanadores de tumbas (Santo in The Grave Robbers, 1965)^[9][10]
• Santo en el Barón Brakola (Santo in Baron Brakola, 1965)^[9][10]
• Santo contra la invasión de los marcianos (Santo vs. The Martian Invasion, 1966)^[9][10]
• Santo contra los villanos del ring (Santo vs. The Villains of the Ring, 1966) (Santo's last B&W film)^[9][10]
• Santo en Operación 67 (Santo in Operation 67, 1966) (Santo's first color film)^[9][10]
• Santo en el tesoro de Moctezuma (Santo in The Treasure of Moctezuma, 1967)^[9][10]
• Santo en el tesoro de Drácula (Santo in Dracula's Treasure, 1968) aka The Vampire and Sex (a separate adult-rated version)^[9][10]
• Santo contra Capulina (Santo vs. Capulina, 1968)^[9][10]
• Santo contra Blue Demon en la Atlántida (Santo vs. Blue Demon in Atlantis, 1969)^[9][10]
• Santo y Blue Demon contra los monstruos (Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monsters, 1969)^[9][10]
• Santo y Blue Demon en el mundo de los muertos (Santo and Blue Demon in the World of the Dead, 1969)^[9][10]
• Santo contra los cazadores de cabezas (Santo vs. The Headhunters, 1969)^[9][10]
• Santo frente a la muerte (Santo Faces Death, 1969) aka Santo vs. the Mafia Killers^[9][10]
• Santo contra los jinetes del terror (Santo Vs The Terror Riders, 1970) aka The Lepers and Sex (a separate adult-rated version)^[9][10]
• Santo en la venganza de las mujeres vampiro (Santo in the Revenge of the Vampire Women, 1970)^[9][10]
• Santo contra la mafia del vicio (Santo vs. The Mafia of Vice, 1970) aka Mission Sabotage^[9][10]
• Santo en la venganza de la momia (Santo in the Mummy's Revenge, 1970)^[9][10]
• Santo en Las momias de Guanajuato (Santo in The Mummies of Guanajuato, 1970) (co-starring Mil Mascaras and Blue Demon)^[9][10]
• Santo en el misterio de la perla negra (Santo in the Mystery of the Black Pearl, 1971) aka The Caribbean Connection (this film was released in Spain in 1971, but was only released in Mexico in 1975)^[9][10]
• Santo contra la hija de Frankenstein (Santo vs. Frankenstein's Daughter, 1971)^[9][10]
• Santo en Misión suicida (Santo in Suicide Mission, 1971)^[9][10]
• Santo contra los asesinos de otros mundos (Santo vs. the Killers from Other Worlds, 1971) aka Santo vs. the Living Atom^[9][10]
• Santo y el tigresa en el aguila real (Santo and the Tigress in the Royal Eagle, 1971)^[9][10]
• Santo y Blue Demon contra Drácula y el Hombre Lobo (Santo and Blue Demon Vs. Dracula and the Wolf Man, 1972)^[9][10]
• Santo contra los secuestradores (Santo Vs. The Kidnappers, 1972)^[9][10]
• Santo contra la magia negra (Santo vs. Black Magic, 1972)^[9][10]
• Santo y Blue Demon en las bestias del terror (Santo and Blue Demon in the Beasts of Terror, 1972)^[9][10]
• Santo contra las lobas (Santo vs. The She-Wolves, 1972)^[9][10]
• Santo en Anónimo mortal (Santo in Anonymous Death Threat, 1972)^[9][10]
• Santo y Blue Demon contra el doctor Frankenstein (Santo and Blue Demon Vs Dr. Frankenstein, 1973)^[9][10]
• Santo contra el doctor Muerte (Santo Vs Dr. Death, 1973) aka Santo strikes again, aka The Masked Man Strikes Again" (one of only four Santo films that was dubbed in English)^[9][10]
• Santo en la venganza de la llorona (Santo in the Revenge of the Crying Woman, 1974) (co-starring boxing champ Mantequilla Napoles)^[9][10]
• Santo en Oro negro (Santo in Black Gold, 1975) aka La Noche de San Juan^[9][10]
• Santo en el Misterio en las Bermudas (Santo in The Bermuda Mystery, 1977) (co-starring Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras)^[9][10]
• Santo en la frontera del terror (Santo at the Border of Terror, 1979) aka Santo vs. the White Shadow^[9][10]
• Santo contra el asesino de televisión (Santo vs the TV Killer, 1981)^[9][10]
• Chanoc y el hijo del Santo contra los vampiros asesinos (Chanoc and Son of Santo vs. The Killer Vampires, 1981) (cameo appearance)^[9][10]
• Santo en el puño de la muerte (Santo in Fist of Death, 1982)^[9][10]
• Santo en la furia de los karatekas (Santo in Fury of the Karate Experts, 1982)^[9][10]

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves

• La de a Caballo (Camel clutch)^[3][11]
• Tope de Cristo (Diving headbutt)^[3]

• Signature moves

• Plancha^[3]
• Suicide dive^[3]

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Empresa Mundial de Lucha Libre

• Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[12]
• Mexican National Middleweight Championship (4 times)^[13]
• Mexican National Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Rayo de Jalisco^[14]
• Mexican National Welterweight Championship (2 times)^[15]
• NWA World Middleweight Championship (1 time)
• NWA World Welterweight Championship (2 time)^[16]

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

Lucha de Apuesta record[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Professional wrestling portal

• Santo at the Internet Movie Database
• The Films of El Santo, El Enmascarado De Plata
• Santo and friends
• Santo-biography with emphasis on his film work on (re)Search my Trash

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2011)

Leon Thomas III
Background information
Birth name	Leon G. Thomas III[1]
Also known as	Leon Thomas
Born	(1993-08-01) August 1, 1993 (age 18)[2] Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres	R&B, pop
Occupations	Actor, musician, dancer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, drums, bass, sax, beatbox
Years active	2003–present
Associated acts	Victoria Justice, Ariana Grande

Leon G. Thomas III (born August 1, 1993) is an American actor,^[3] singer, songwriter, musician and dancer who plays the role of Andre Harris on the Nickelodeon series Victorious. He will be debuting an album in 2012.^{[citation needed]} On Youtube he currently has his own channel known as "leonthomasmusic".

Early life[link]

Thomas was born in Brooklyn, to Jayon Anthony.^[1][4]

Broadway[link]

He made his Broadway debut at age 10^[1] in 2003 as Young Simba in the Broadway production of The Lion King. In 2004, he appeared as Jackie Thibodeaux in the original Broadway cast of Tony Kushner's Caroline or Change. He also toured with the company during its five-month run in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Thomas has performed in the Broadway productions The Lion King, Caroline, or Change, and The Color Purple.^[5]

Music career[link]

Leon Thomas III is working on an upcoming EP, titled Metro Hearts which is slated to be released on July 1, 2012.^[6] And, he has revealed that the EP will consist of his cover of Kings of Leon's hit single "Use Somebody" and a duet with his Victorious co-star, Ariana Grande.^[7][8]

Television[link]

In 2007, Thomas appeared in the film August Rush as Arthur performing the song "La Bamba" and was the singing voice for Tyrone in The Backyardigans. Thomas has also guest starred on Jack's Big Music Show and Just Jordan. He also appeared as Harper in iCarly Saves TV and was featured on The Naked Brothers Band Christmas Special. He is a main character on Victorious, playing Andre Harris, which premiered on Nickelodeon on March 27, 2010. He also appeared as himself in the True Jackson, VP February 5, 2011, season 2 episode. He also appeared as Andre in the iCarly and Victorious crossover, "iParty with Victorious".

Filmography[link]

Broadway[link]

• The Lion King
• Caroline or Change
• The Color Purple

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Leon Thomas III at the Internet Movie Database
• Leon Thomas III on Twitter

v t e Victorious Quotes · Schneider's Bakery · Characters Creator Dan Schneider Episodes Season 1 • Season 2  • Season 3 Music Soundtrack Victorious Singles "Make It Shine"  • "Freak the Freak Out"  • "Beggin' on Your Knees"  • "Best Friend's Brother"  • "Leave It All To Shine"  • "All I Want Is Everything"  • "You're The Reason"  • "It's Not Christmas Without You"  • "Countdown"  • "Take a Hint"  • "Make It In America" Other songs "Give It Up" Related iCarly • Schneider's Bakery • Nickelodeon • "iParty with Victorious"

Amos Leon Thomas Jr (October 4, 1937 – May 8, 1999) was an American avant garde jazz singer from East St. Louis, Illinois.

Thomas studied music at Tennessee State University. In the 1960s he was a vocalist for Count Basie and others.

In 1969, he released his first solo album for the prestigious Flying Dutchman label. However he made an earlier album which is still unreleased even now.

He was largely forgotten until a resurgence of interest in soul jazz. Several of his tracks have been sampled in hip-hop and downtempo records.

He changed his name to Leone in 1974 because of an interest he had in numerology at the time. He did not legally change his name and he reverted back to Leon shortly thereafter.

Thomas is best known for his work with Pharoah Sanders, particularly the 1969 song "The Creator Has a Master Plan" from Sanders' Karma album. Thomas's most distinctive device was that he often broke out into yodeling in the middle of a vocal. This style has influenced singers James Moody, Tim Buckley and Bobby McFerrin, among others. He said in an interview that he developed this style after he fell and broke his teeth before an important show.

Thomas toured and recorded as a member of the band Santana in 1973.^[1]

Thomas died of heart failure on May 8, 1999.

Discography[link]

This section requires expansion.

As leader[link]

• Spirits Known And Unknown (Flying Dutchman, 1969)
• The Leon Thomas Album (Flying Dutchman, 1970)
• Blues and the Soulful Truth (Flying Dutchman, 1972)
• Full Circle (Flying Dutchman, 1973)
• Gold Sunrise on Magic Mountain (live) (Flying Dutchman, 1971)
• Live in Berlin with Oliver Nelson (Flying Dutchman, 1971)
• The Leon Thomas Blues Band (Portrait, 1988)
• Facets (compilation) (Flying Dutchman)
• Anthology (compilation) (Soul Brother Records)
• A Piece of Cake (Palcoscenico Records)

As sideman[link]

With Pharoah Sanders

• Karma (1969)
• Jewels of Thought (1969)
• Iphizo Zam (1973)
• Shukuru (1983)
• Oh Lord, Let Me Do No Wrong (1987)

[edit] With Santana

• Welcome (1973)
• Lotus (1974)

[edit] With Archie Shepp

• Kwanza (1974)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Leon Thomas on JazzSupreme
• Yahoo Bio
• Another bio