Folk Concepts of Outer Space
It seems unlikely that the worlds of flying saucers and wrestling would ever meet. Nonetheless, following a tip from a friend on the Internet, I went to a Los Angeles parking lot that had been converted to a gym to meet George (not his real name), a practitioner of lucha libre, or Mexican wrestling. The character he assumes in the ring is that of El Físico Nuclear, an astronaut from a world not yet discovered by our astronomers. Majestic in his glittering purple mask and cloak, both of which are covered with symbols from physics, he stood in the center of the ring and spoke to me about his character. "El Físico, he's an old soul, and he's an old being, too. The body he inhabits is old, I mean. But firm and strong, and healthy, like this." George flexed his muscles, showing off his finely tuned and well trained body. "El Físico Nuclear is actually a pun--it means both `The Nuclear Physicist' and `The Nuclear Physique.' Físico wants everyone to have a healthy body, to take care of the temple of their mind, because it is with the mind that humanity's destiny will come to pass."
I asked him why he felt compelled to create the character. "Well, I didn't really create him, he just sort of came to me, you know? but I think that scientists have gotten a bad rap. They're always portrayed as being evil and doing terrible things, especially in light of such events as Alamogordo and Chernobyl. I read Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time, and thought that that was a good start. I mean, one can't help but be awed and impressed by and feel sympathy for this man who, in the face of his own mortality, and trapped in a wheel chair, with only his mind to access the universe, writes a book about the theory of relativity and black holes, and becomes a world famous figure. He is definitely one of my heroes. But I didn't think it was enough. I thought that there should be a way to reach more people, people who don't necessarily spend a lot of time reading, who watch more TV and sports than they do thinking about the role that science plays in their lives. So I went back to school, finished my B.A and went right into a M.A. in physics from Cal State Fullerton. Now, I teach physics as I wrestle.
"I really learned all of these moves from the real El Físico, who is still on this planet. He's an ancient astronaut who came to this earth to help humanity evolve. He's still helping us to evolve, even as we speak. His work is well known, though maybe not his authorship--he constructed the pyramids, the Nazca lines, and contained the Bermuda Triangle so it didn't swallow the whole world. He agreed with me that it would be a great idea for me to be El Físico Nuclear in the ring, and spread his word."
Fearing that I would lose my objectivity as a reporter, I declined his invitation to enter the ring with him, so he called his erstwhile enemy, Vandál Drummónd, who is played by his best friend, Drummond, a stocky young man with a full head of what the audience calls his "long commie locks." Perched atop one of the corner posts, George continued his lecture from behind his mask. "Vandál will catch me, and it requires an exact knowledge--practical if not scientific--to know how high I can jump, how much Vandál will have to give without letting me knock him over too forcefully." Crossing his arms over his chest and muttering equations beneath his breath--I could only make out "...5, 8, 13!"and "centripetal force"--El Físico leapt into the air, and, pulling his legs into his chest, performed an impressive triple flip. Vandál stood cringing below, his arms open, with a look of sheer terror on his face, until the last moment, when he turned to me and winked. It looked to me as if Vandál would be completely crushed, but after El Físico had regained his feet, Vandál got up and brushed himself off, smiling. "I believe that George is El Físico Nuclear. No one else can do the stuff he does. No one has introduced more terms to lucha libre, like 'quintuple back flip' and 'slow-time suplex.' He couldn't do it unless he were really from outer space." The man behind El Físico's mask smiled, and shook his head from side to side. "It's all because of physics. Anyone can learn to do these things, if they study physics at all levels, as I have. I can only hope that the people out there, that it impresses them and they study it for themselves. Tell your friends that--in Truth, Science and Fair Play! lie the salvation of our nation!"
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