Superbarrio Gómez
| Superbarrio Gómez | |
|---|---|
|
Superbarrio, Mexico City, July 30, 2006 | |
| Born | Undisclosed |
| Nationality | Mexican |
| Occupation | Crimefighter, satirist, political activist |
| Honors | Appeared in Crisis #7 and #8 |
Superbarrio Gómez is a Mexican "real-life superhero," celebrity, satirist, and organizer.[1]
Inspired by the [Luchador] wrestler [El Santo] - and his social-justice superhero persona in comics and movies; Superbarrio wears red tights and a red and yellow wrestler's mask. Rather than fight crime and corruption with violence, he uses his image to organize labor rallies and protests, and file petitions. Although he has been claimed to be Marco Rascón Córdova,[2] the authorized biography Todos Somos Superbarrio informs that although Rascón Córdova, a long-time social activist, did create the character, Marco was never Superbarrio, but it was rather a lesser-known political organizer, who was in turn substituted for a wrestler in the few times he actually fought on the ring.[3]
The character was created in 1987 by Asamblea de Barrios, an organization fighting for affordable housing after the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, which left thousands of homeless. He first began stopping the evictions of families who paid rent. In 1988 he was informally declared candidate for the Mexican 1988 presidential election. He declined in favor of Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas and his Party of the Democratic Revolution which he supported in the following years.
In 1996 Superbarrio declared himself a "candidate" for the 1996 United States Presidential Election and held "mock" campaign rallies in the United States and Mexico.[4]
Superbarrio disappeared from public life after 1997, when Cárdenas won the election as Head of Government of Mexico City. His biographer Mauricio-José Schwarz claims Superbarrio became a worker in the housing programs of the leftist government.
Appearances
Two books have been written about Superbarrio: Todos Somos Superbarrio (We are all Superbarrio) by Mauricio-José Schwarz and De Superman a Superbarrios (From Superman to Superbarrio) by Hans Röeder.
Superbarrio has appeared in the British comic book series (2000 AD Presents) Crisis #7 and #8. Superbarrio appeared as an activist trying to prevent multi-national corporations from taking advantage of Latin American Third World nations in the Third World War storyline by Pat Mills and Carlos Ezquerra.
Film
Superbarrio Gómez has appeared in numerous documentaries including "Megacities"[5] by Michael Glawogger, where he talked about living in Mexico City and "Super Amigos"[6] where Superbarrio and other Mexican luchadors/real life super heroes battle corruption, homophobia, animal exploitation, pollution and poverty in Mexico City.
References
- ↑ "In the Land of La Realidad." El Andar Magazine
- ↑ Melé, Patrice and Jean Hennequin. La producción del Patrimonio Urbano. CIESAS. 2006. 183. Retrieved on February 27, 2009.
- ↑ Schwarz, Mauricio (Jan 4, 2011). "Todos Somos Superbarrio" (PDF). Listo pa' llevar. Retrieved Sep 24, 2016.
- ↑ Grillo, Ioan. "A Mexican Take on the Primary Race." TIME. February 29, 2008. Retrieved on February 27, 2009.
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169024/
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0923928/
External links
- Superbarrio at Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics at New York University