Nineteen years in the past, Jack Black starred in “Nacho Libre.”
Mushy, candy, and endearing, the movie was a preferred hit. However for Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez, there was one flaw.
The film failed to inform the actual story of Benítez. He’s higher referred to as Fray Tormenta, the orphanage-sponsoring priest who wrestled after darkish, and whose life grew to become the backstory for the film’s titular character.
“There was wrestling and an orphanage, but that was not my story,” stated Tormenta, who wrestled beneath a masks to help his orphanage. “In the movie, Jack Black’s character fell in love with a nun. It was a good comedy, but it is not mine.”
Talking by way of a translator, Tormenta revealed to the Boston Herald that he’s writing an autobiography, which is anticipated to be launched early subsequent 12 months. At age 80, with failing eyesight and frail well being, he believes now could be the time to share his story.
“I can’t tell my story when I am dead,” stated Tormenta, who has partnered with the modern – and aptly named – Masked Republic media group to publish his e book. “I need to tell the true story of my redemption. It was never about chasing fame, but always about the glory of supporting my orphanage.”
Born into poverty in Mexico, Tormenta was the seventeenth of 18 youngsters. Now the lone survivor amongst his siblings, Tormenta almost grew to become a statistic of the saddest kind as an adolescent when he wrestled with the demons of dependancy.
“It’s not like I had any money, so I had to steal,” stated Tormenta. “Heroin, cocaine, I had to keep the cycle going. I was on the cusp of death. My life reached the point where it was a living hell.”
Tormenta finally discovered salvation by way of the church. But that was not the case at first.
“A priest told me that the church was not a place for an addict like me,” stated Tormenta. “When I cursed out that priest, he threw me out. That is the moment I realized that the world would be better with caring priests, ones that wanted to help all people.”
In Could 1973, at age 28, Tormenta formally grew to become an ordained priest. Even when “Nacho Libre” didn’t absolutely seize Tormenta’s story, it was, in actual fact, a film – “El Senor Tormenta,” detailing the journey of a poor priest wrestling at night time to help his orphanage – that without end modified the path of his life.
Sure, a movie a few wrestling priest impressed a priest to wrestle – which then served because the inspiration for a movie a few wrestling priest.
“I thought wrestling would be a perfect way to make money for the orphans, who needed more food and warmer clothing,” stated Tormenta. “So I trained for a year and a half in the morning before mass, covering my bruises before I went to church. But when I had my first match, it wasn’t what I was expecting. Instead of a million dollars, I was making five dollars a match.”
Tormenta’s non secular affiliation didn’t stop him from getting bodily with gang members making an attempt to cease him from spreading the gospel – or from providing one other perspective with the prostitutes who repeatedly launched themselves to patrons as they left church.
But changing into a priest was sacred, motivating Tormenta to cover his wrestling identification.
“I didn’t want anyone in wrestling to know I was a priest,” stated Tormenta. “I wrestled for greater than three years earlier than it was found. When it was revealed, it didn’t upset individuals – and even the church. When phrase bought out that I used to be a priest supporting my orphanage, we began to have sellouts. Individuals had been curious to see the wrestling priest. They waited for me exterior the sector and gave me luggage of rice and beans, even garments for the kids.
“God has a purpose and a plan for us. I didn’t always understand it, but I now know this was the way it was always supposed to be.”
One slight remorse for Tormenta is that he has but to go to Boston, which was dwelling to the famed Boston Backyard.
“I made it all the way to Arena Mexico, but wrestling in Boston Garden remains beyond my wildest dreams,” stated Tormenta. “My friend from Mexico was a priest that spent time living in Boston, and he would dress like a clown for children suffering from cancer. Sometimes we get caught up in what we’re doing and lose sight of what is important in life. What he did was very significant for those children.”
Tormenta’s orphanage has supported greater than 2,000 youngsters over the previous 40 years, illustrating {that a} fictional in-ring superhero can double as one in actual life. And he continues to serve by way of automobile wash fundraisers, wrestling T-shirt gross sales, and even comic-con appearances that every one elevate funds for his orphanage, the Kids’s House for Fray Tormenta’s Cubs.
“That’s why I got into wrestling, to help those in need,” stated Tormenta. “It is what God called me to do. Until I go to heaven, this is my mission. As long as I can, I will continue.”
