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It’s December 1. My, 2009 is flying by!

Today is National AIDS Awareness Day. Love and compassion to those who have suffered the AIDS virus. Love and salutations to all the compassionate folks who have thrown their hats into battleground to fight HIV and the prejudices against its victims.

El Solitario

December 1 marks the 24th Anniversary of the famous mask vs mask bout pitting El Solitario vs Dr. Wagner. El Solitario (The Solitary Man, or The Lonely Man), lauded as one of the most charismatic tecnicos in wrestling history, won the hood of veteran heel Dr. Wagner. Wagner was revealed to be Manuel Gonzalez Rivera.

Sadly, El Solitario passed away on April 6, 1986. Blue Demon, in his autobiography, said that Solitario died from a “very strange illness” that he never discussed when he was alive. People close to Solitario have since confirmed that this was virus, a side effect of his lifestyle. The stigma against HIV/AIDS was much harsher than it is today. We’ve come a long way, but still have far to go.

Above: Footage from the El Solitario vs Dr. Wagner mask vs mask bout

In a tragic twist of fate, Dr. Wagner and fellow rudo Angel Blanco were in a car wreck just twenty days after Solitario’s passing. The duo was traveling to a show, when one of the car’s tires blew out. Angel Blanco was killed, and Dr. Wagner was permanently injured. Exacerbating the tragedy is the fact that both El Solitario and Angel Blanco were Wagner’s closest friends.

Above: 1966: El Solitario & Marco Rulio vs Polo Torres & El Rebelde.

One of the great things about growing up a Southern California wrestling fan during the 1970s was that we had the opportunity to see a plethora of talent from the U.S., Mexico, Japan, and Europe. This gave me the opportunity to see El Solitario as a babyface on TV in 1973, and during his short but memorable heel run in 1981. The match I remember most fondly was a great 2 out of 3 fall match versus Argentine strongman Coloso Colosetti on KMEX TV. Colosetti is another hepcat who possessed natural magnetism, and pairing these two hit that charisma jackpot that makes a match special. It was a totally bitchin’ affair that included Colosetti selling Solitario’s mule-kick with beautiful histrionics to drop the second fall. Colosetti, fresh in the L.A. territory, went over to take fall number three, and the heat in the live audience was sweet (and yes, eleven year old newby fan that I was, I was livid too).

Credit to Luchawiki and José Fernandez (above, being thrashed by Dorrell Dixon and Coloso Colosetti) for much of the material on El Solitario and Dr. Wagner

LUCHAWIKI — Lucha Libre fanatics, you must check out this site!