New Braces For Kyphosis

"EL BURRO": A SYMBOL OF ALL THE GOOD YEARS OF CHILEAN

were the seventies, the golden times of the Chilean Olympic boxing.

Caupolicán Theatre and Chile Stadium events offered every week, Channel 13 broadcast "Noches de Boxeo" and the national television station of Chile did the same with "World Boxing." The environment was dark, no doubt: the stakes, the results arranged and strangest tricks were present in these fights rooms surrounded by the exalted public and huge wave of cigarette smoke. But there were also national boxing greats: Martin Vargas, Jaime "little engine" Miranda, Héctor Velásquez and Benedicto Villablanca. Even recounted a veteran Renato Gonzalez, Mr. Huife unforgettable, and much of the activity was financed by the Cuban-English prosperous businessman Ricardo Liano, a real tycoon national sport and spectacle, which ended their dismal days poor and forgotten leased a modest part of the Barrio Mapocho.

There, in every assault, a wizard known for his loud booming voice and his machine gun or sizes witty jokes at the right time. "El Burro" nicknamed him, and by 1977 has already become a character who brightens the days of fighting, although television cameras only capture their distinctive cries, for the privilege of recognizing only of those attending these meetings.

The laughs explode in each of the jokes of this typical contemporary Chilean broken. To divert the attention of respectable , which is filled with laughter. "El Burro" was right: Creative got its spots at key moments of silence or the monotony of the fight, and it was also a wonderful animations and, fortunately for the business, a regular attendant and inevitable in every fight. Their presence was holy. Shouting from their seats and using their hands as a megaphone, always hiding somewhere place in the darkness accomplice outside the ring. People turned around trying to identify, as the laughter spread like fire among pine needles.

carvings "El Burro" would be his hallmark, unique. In the eighties, the sports journalist Julio Martinez and not only celebrated his jokes (sometimes risque), but also as audio speakers were better than in the halls of the meeting, briefly explained the content of some of these sizes the viewers who did not have the ability to listen well to the inevitable subject.

Some of his famous and timely interventions were like:

• A boxer tended to hang the other or "hook", forcing the referee to separate them constantly. In one of those times, "El Burro" he roars obfuscated that became entangled in his rival: "Pa" the other take it pa 'home, oh asshole! " .

• In severe period of friction between Argentina and Britain over the disputed Falkland Islands, where an assault was carried out between a Chilean and an Argentine boxer, "El Burro" started screaming from the gallery with altered pitch and mimicking the nocturnal ride Paul Revere: "British are coming, English are coming!" .

• When the fight was put fome and boxers are "studying" too long with little action, the incorrigible character pulled out a special letter from his repertoire and shouted: "How not come to college if they study both ? .

• If the fight down the intensity and "deflated", the irreverent sarcasm now assistant shouted: "Better put them music pa 'to be drawn to dance!" .

Far from bothering with interminbles profanity, "El Burro" was a character very dear to the family boxeril: athletes, public, journalists and businessmen knew and admired him. In fact, once received a special award was granted by the National Boxing Federation, and said that, thanks to liven up his fame, there was a time when attending these meetings for free, invited by the organizers.

But who was "El Burro" really? Few know where it came from, perhaps, that voice powerful and overwhelming: Luis Domingo Contreras Reyes, folk artist, musician, instrumentalist and man strong links with the Chilean popular culture. It was also a comedian par excellence, cheerful, funny and able to invent a good "out" in seconds, looking at a situation that inspired it. I have seen the famous character once, but several imitators and impostors, but none like "The Donkey". If memory serves me correctly, was a man rather plump, medium size, those with "face joke" , as they say in the jargon.

Cuequero heart and deed, Contreras was in the respected former training group "Chinganera", where he shared with great Chilean folk and farmers Rafucho (Rafael Andrade) and Chicken (Carlos Navarro). It was in this environment where Lucho Contreras would have also won nickname "El Burro" (with reference animals, as is common among cuequeros), a nickname that accompanied him throughout life. It is no coincidence his dual passion for boxing and the cueca, half as many folk musicians were great sports fans of this genre, as the brothers Godoy Hernandez, master and Nano Maraboli González Núñez.

But in the eighties, Chilean boxing began to fall down the slope that would lead to the end of his best time. Much influenced by underfunding and structural collapse of the international campaign against this game based on morality and tremendous cynically-not applied in other sports much more dangerous but more lucrative. Another fee should have made it almost forced the retirement of Martin Vargas, who in many ways with your own picture holding much of the popularity of boxing in those years. The rest, must have been paid by the chiaroscuro always lived with pugilistic activity, unfortunately, and although it hurts to admit it. The formula was completed with the tragic collapse of Caupolicán Theatre and temporary closure before changing hands.

Coincidentally, Luis Contreras died at the same time. The news was announced in the sports segment of news programs, causing great pain among those nostalgic for those old fights in black and white, when everything seemed to speak of the false bright future that awaited the guild. When informed of his death, many were able to meet for the first time the mysterious face behind those endless cries and graceful, his photograph to appear fleetingly on television.

never be another like the irreplaceable character famous "El Burro" , then, and probably re not even have an arena just like those, to give the opportunity for a new actor replacing him spontaneous or aspiring to do so.