Juan Alvarado Ibarra (January 7, 1915 - February 3, 2003) was a Mexican luchador, or professional wrestler, better known under the ring name Shadito Cruz. Best known as the patriarch of the Alvarado wrestling family that includes six of Alvarado's sons and many of his grandchildren, Cruz achieved little success as a wrestler but became a well respected trainer. He trained members of his own family as well as a large number of non-family members
| Shadito Cruz | |
|---|---|
 Shadito Cruz surrounded by second and third-generation Alvarados | |
| Birth name | Juan Alvarado Ibarra |
| Born | January 7, 1915 Mexico City, Mexico |
| Died | February 3, 2003 (aged 88) Mexico City, Mexico |
| Cause of death | Alzheimer's disease |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | El Hombre del Brazo de Oro Shadito Cruz |
Professional wrestling career
editEarly in his career Juan Alvarado was given the nickname "Shadito" due to his physical resemblance to luchador Black Shadow, which stuck with him as a ring name.[1][2][3] His wrestling career as Shadito Cruz was not very notable, partially because Cruz was physically very small. At the time of his peak years Lucha Libre focused more on the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions.[1] In 1975 he decided to try a different ring character as he took the name of a Frank Sinatra movie The Man with the Golden Arm and became "El Hombre del Brazo de Oro" for a few months. When his son Jesús Alvarado Nieves made his debut in 1975n Shadito Cruz gave the ring character to his son and instead of wrestling decided on training young wrestlers instead, including most of his six sons for their professional wrestling careers as well as become a referee.[1][4] Over the years six of Alvarado's sons became professional wrestlers, all using the word "Brazo" in their ring names.
Death
editAlvarado died on February 3, 2003, as a consequence of his Alzheimer's disease.[1]
The Alvarado family
editThe Alvarado wrestling family spans three generations starting with Shadito Cruz followed by his six sons and a third-generation of wrestlers that started working in the late 1990s. Daniel Alvarado Nieves, the youngest Alvarado sibling, wrestled as "Shadito Cruz, Jr." early in his career before using the ring name "Brazo de Platino" (Platinum Arm).[3] On February 17, 2013, the Alvarado family held a special Homenaje a Shadito Cruz ("Homage to Shadito Cruz") show, featuring the La Copa Shadito Cruz tag team tournament. The show honored both Cruz and his wife Ana Nieves and the family traditions they had inspired.[5]
† = deceased
| Shadito Cruz † | Ana Nieves † | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lady Apache | Brazo de Oro † | El Brazo † | Brazo de Plata | Brazo Cibernético † | Brazo de Platino | Super Brazo | La Alimaña | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Aramís | La Máscara | El Brazo Jr. | Máximo | Robin | Super Brazo Jr. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Psycho Clown | India Sioux | Brazo Cibernético II | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Carta Brava Jr. | Goya Kong | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Danah | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wrestlers trained
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d Ruiz Glez, Alex (February 3, 2011). "Hoy es el octavo aniversario luctuoso del iniciador de la dinastía de Los Brazos "Shadito Cruz"". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved April 26, 2013.
- ^ "Los Brazos Familia Ejemplar / the Brazos a model Family". Lucha Libre: Masked Superstars of Mexican Wrestling. Distributed Art Publishers, Inc. 2005. pp. 184–190. ISBN 968-6842-48-9.
- ^ a b Madigan, Dan (2007). "A Family Affair". Mondo Lucha A Go-Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 224–228. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
- ^ "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Brazo, Brazo de Oro, Brazo de Plata (in Spanish). Mexico. July 2007. pp. 39–41. Tomo I.
- ^ "La Avalancha Alvarado apago la dinamita". Estrellas del Ring (in Spanish). February 17, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
- ^ "Statistics for Professional wrestlers". PWI Presents: 2008 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts. Kappa Publications. pp. 66–79. 2008 Edition.
- ^ "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Axxel (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico. August 2007. p. 29. Tomo I.
- ^ "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Bracito de Oro (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico. August 2007. p. 39. Tomo I.
- ^ a b c "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Brazo, Brazo de Oro, Brazo de Plata (in Spanish). Mexico. July 2007. pp. 39–41. Tomo I.
- ^ "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Brazo de Platino (in Spanish). Mexico. July 2007. p. 41. Tomo I.
- ^ "Rudos: La Nazi". Fuego en en Ring (in Spanish). Retrieved November 10, 2012.
- ^ "Tecnicos – La Mascara". Fuego en en Ring (in Spanish). Retrieved October 17, 2009.
- ^ "Tecnicos: Máscara Sagrada". Fuego en en Ring (in Spanish). Retrieved June 17, 2010.
- ^ "Tecnicos – Máximo". Fuego en en Ring (in Spanish). Archived from the original on October 8, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
- ^ "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Super Brazo (in Spanish). Mexico. December 2007. p. 25. Tomo V.
