This is what happens sometimes when you get someplace on Latin time: You miss a singular, epic battle between a home-grown técnico, El Conquistador, and his eternal nemesis, El Hombre Invisible. The event last Saturday might have been "art" sponsored by the Queens Museum, but the pictures tell the story: for the spectators, what happened in that ring was as real as myth.
Because I missed the fight entirely, I owe a big thanks to my Viva colleague Carlos Rodriguez for supplying the photos and crónica of the momentous, even touching, event, below:
The crowd at Corona Plaza roared in excitement when the emcee announced that The Invisible Man was about to hit the ring. A long, rather awkward silence ensued. People - mostly restless kids and their parents - looked around for the masked fighter. Was he going to jump from the Pollo Campero balconies or the rusty pillars of the elevated 7 train? It took us all a while until we realized The Invisible Man was, as the name implies, beyond the eye's grasp.
Then, Shaun 'El Conquistador' Leonardo appeared. In his white and gold mask; tanned, muscular torso and long, red velvet cape, he strutted to the sound of a flamenco-ish fanfare that boasted two guitarists and a bailaora. The fierce combat worked the crowd into a frenzy. Leonardo showed remarkable skill at jumping into the air and crash-landing unharmed. A very Invisible Man proved a formidable opponent, knocking Leonardo down repeatedly and dragging him all over the ring. Some people in the audience heckled the unseen wrestler for his dirty tricks, calling him "sucio."
After being kicked out of the ring and unto the plaza's hard, oily pavement (normally a parking spot for moving trucks,) Leonardo staged a striking but ultimately insufficient comeback. The Invisible Man's sheer might prevailed and brought him down to his knees. Mortified, El Conquistador took off his mask and humbly thanked the cheering audience, his flamenco troupe singing and clapping to the ranchera "Cielito lindo." The ominous chants of "canta y no llores" followed El Conquistador as he broodingly left the battlefield wrapped in a blanket, the winner still nowhere to be seen.
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