October is my favorite month of the year. While it is the month where we get to celebrate Halloween, it’s also National Hispanic Heritage Month. I’ve been on a quest lately to find Hispanic and or Latin heroes and heroines from various movies and I thought it just the right time to introduce part two of my original list of Five Great Latinx Horror Movie Heroes.
It was tough to find some great characters in a genre mostly reserved for Caucasian characters, but overall I think it’s a great way to ring in both occasions.
El Santo – Santo Movie Series
Despite not being Mexican, El Santo is a superhero I’d always heard about since I was a child. Though he fought Bad guys he also fought monsters, vampires, and demons. Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta, known professionally as El Santo was a Mexican Luchador enmascarado, actor and folk hero. El Santo is one of the most famous and iconic Mexican luchadores, and has been referred to as one of “the greatest legends in Mexican sports.” “El Santo” became a big screen superhero who fought off zombies, Martians, Witches, Mummies, and oh so much more. He’s a legend.
Pablo – Ash vs. Evil Dead
Pablo is a bit of a cheat here since he’s basically from a TV series, but he’s from a TV Series based on a bitchin’ series of horror movies. So I think it counts. Pablo begins his life as a fan boy for Ash Williams, and quickly becomes his ally in fighting the deadites over the course of the TV series. Along the way he discovers his own powers for fighting the demonic hordes, and even becomes a hero in his own right.
Rondo – The Devil’s Rejects
Rondo is a great anti-hero (Despite being cheaply and lazily killed off in “3 from Hell”) who is introduced in “The Devil’s Rejects.” Part of the Unholy Two, he’s hired as a bounty hunter tasked with stalking and capturing the Firefly Trio. With their ability to pretty much cut through their bullshit and overpower them, they swiftly cut them at their knees and catch them without fail. I wish we’d seen a lot more of him.
Jake – Quarantine
I’m not a huge fan of the remake of “[REC]” but I do enjoy how much more emphases that they put on the side characters this time out. With “Quarantine,” the firefighters given a tad more screen time, including Jay Hernandez’s character Jake. Jake is a firefighter who takes a liking to Jennifer Carpenter’s protagonist, and ends up sticking with her until the end where he’s taken down by the demon horde within the tenement. Tis a sad fate for an interesting hero.
Phoebe – The Babysitter: Killer Queen
After the first “The Babysitter,” young Cole thought he was free from his sexy, Satanic babysitter, but he’s mistaken. This time around he’s betrayed by his best friend and neighbor Melanie, who also seeks some of that sweet Satanic Juice. But he’s helped by bold, courageous heroine Phoebe, a young girl on a mysterious mission of her own. When she accidentally finds herself in the middle of Melanie’s attempt to sacrifice Cole, she steps up and proves to be a pretty awesome heroine in her own right.