Today, two things that are entirely
unrelated.
The first has to do with a phone call I
received at work yesterday, when someone rang me with a question
about the movie “Nacho Libre”. After I answered it
(specifically, who starred in it), I got to thinking. And that, as
we all know, can be a very dangerous thing. Of what was I thinking?
That no one in the U.S. seems to know
about one of the best “worst” movies of all time.
“Nacho Libre” is the story of a
masked wrestler, played by Jack Black. What you may not know is that
masked wrestlers have been a HUGE part of of Mexican pop culture for
years, so much so that a series of films mashing up wrestling and
horror movies popped up in the mid 60s, the “best” of them being
the immortal flick “Wrestling Women vs. the Aztec Mummy”.
Yes, that’s the actual name of it.
I first saw the flick when I was
visiting Mexico at age 14, and it’s been stuck somewhere in the dim
recesses of my head ever since. I’ve seen it in both English and
Spanish and, frankly, it’s better in Spanish, especially if you
don’t speak the language, because then you can make up your own
plot in your head. Not that there’s much of a plot to follow;
basically, it involves an evil mummy springing to life and battling
the women who dropkick it back into the netherworld. The action,
costumes, acting and, most importantly, plot are so ludicrous that
I’m surprised Quentin Tarantino hasn’t tried to remake it yet.
If you EVER see it playing on some
obscure cable channel or find it floating around in your Netflix
queue, check it out for a great laugh. It’s called “Wrestling
Women vs. the Aztec Mummy” starring, in alphabetical order, the
Aztec Mummy and some wrestling women. You WON’T be disappointed.
***
Secondly, it’s my mom’s birthday
today, and I certainly can’t let that go without some kind of
notice. I’ve had several of you mention to me over the years that
it seems as if you’ve come to know (and sympathize for or with)
her, what with me mentioning assorted items as to how I've made her
life a living heck, including (but not limited to) how I was actually
born a month past my due date, how I once tore open dozens of boxes
of cereal in a grocery store, causing the whole family to eat nothing
but Corn Flakes for several weeks, and how I once would only eat
bananas and milk for months and then one morning spewed them all over
the kitchen, refusing--to this day--to ever eat another banana again.
Yes, I was a special kid. But then she
was a special mom to put up with all that, and with everything that
my sister and brother threw at her, as well. So I’m sure all of
us--her kids, as well as you guys, who’ve come to know her over all
these years--wish her another year of health, happiness, lots of
painting, and, perhaps most importantly, extra strength in putting up
with my dad and his shenanigans.
Happy birthday, Mom. . .from all of
us!!
Love,
(p.s.--if you haven’t visited her
painting website recently, just click here.
You'll be stunned and amazed, in a good way!)
No comments:
Post a Comment