The Masked Man and The Mixtape
By José Luis García
Before we get deeper into the story of Lucha Libre icon The Masked Hunt I wanted to give some context regarding the ‘mixtapes’ that accompany each of the articles in this series.
Outside of professional wrestling, The Masked Hunt was known to have been a huge fan of music. He would often carry a personal stereo on the long bus rides to venues all across Mexico and fill the travel time by listening to music from all genres and eras.
Over the years he amassed a huge music collection and would often make cassette tapes for friends and fans: this would ultimately culminate with his own broadcast on several Mexican radio stations from the mid to late 70s.
Sadly many of the broadcasts made by The Hunt were lost over the years as stations made the switch from analogue to digital. Shows from some of the smaller station were lost due to the stations closure. What remains is a small but fascinating insight into the man’s musical tastes and moods.
Music became a bigger part of The Masked Hunt’s career after he suffered a near fatal car accident on New Years Eve 1979. While heading to the Arena Mexico for the match that would have cemented his ascension to superstardom, the car he was travelling in careened down the side of a cliff. The impact instantly killed two of the passengers in the vehicle and caused irreparable damage to the others: The Hunt being one of them.
After being rushed to hospital, The Hunt slipped into a coma from which many believed he would not survive. It was during this time that The Hunt’s best friend Paco, a young wannabe wrestler deemed to small and scrawny to make it, would make daily visits and play music to The Hunt in the hopes that the music and melodies would rouse him.
Using selections from The Hunt’s record collection, Paco made a series of cassettes to play while The Hunt lay comatose. Taking inspiration from his friend, Paco would also visit many of the local markets and record stores to look for things, which he believed The Hunt, would enjoy. After a period of around 3 months The Hunt awoke from his coma and heaped praise upon his friend for not only his constant support but for also giving him something to focus on during his recovery.
Once he was able to move a little more independently, The Hunt would fill time in the hospital by visiting the hospital radio room and would either sit in with local DJ’s or take over a show and play music for his fellow patients.
Yet another bizarre and fascinating aspect to a man we in 2020 know very little about on a personal level but who’s legacy I hope to uncover more of in upcoming articles. For now enjoy one of The Masked Hunt’s later broadcasts that saw him enjoy music from Jazz, Blues, Pop and much more.