Catch L'Ange Blanc (Maxime Metzinger)vs André Bollet Palais - Lot 689

Catch L'Ange Blanc (Maxime Metzinger)vs André Bollet Palais des Sports Porte de Versailles Catch L'Ange Blanc (Maxime Metzinger)vs André Bollet Palais des Sports Porte de Versailles For those of you lucky enough to have parents or grandparents who loved wrestling in your early youth, you've no doubt heard of "L'Ange Blanc" (the White Angel), in a fit of nostalgia, as you watched your favorite wrestler launch himself into an otherworldly finisher from the top of a ladder. The White Angel? But who was this wrestler, that we're still talking about him today? How did he become a legend? How in the name of all that's holy could the White Angel find himself wrestling in several different cities on the same night?... We are in the 50s. In post-war France, people need to believe again, to feel alive again, to move forward, to dream. From Mexico, via Spain, a new form of wrestler was born on the old continent: the masked wrestler. Among them, the ultimate reference, a veritable social fantasy, a whirlwind of justice and honor: "The White Angel". From the outset, L'Ange Blanc made an impression: mask, cape, everything immaculate, he warned: he's here to chastise the bad guys... with him, the bad guys will be punished. A fine technician with a handsome presence, this mysterious wrestler sets the world on fire: women kneel before him, his hands are kissed, he is the hero, the savior par excellence, a fantasized purifying angel who goes beyond the boundaries of sport to invade all the advertising media of the time. People flock to see his fights - up to 15,000 people in one evening event - and he shatters the admissions for the best boxing matches of the era! L'Ange Blanc is everywhere, and is even hired to follow the Tour de France cycling race, fighting a villain at the end of each day. All the bad boys fell before the White Angel: the terrible Bourreau de Béthune, Roger Delaporte and Popoffh le Gitan, among others, tasted the icon's blows, and at the time, the blows were still delivered, albeit at a decent level, but enough to be well felt (chased kicks, double nelson, etc.), akin to Japanese or Mexican wrestling. With so much enthusiasm and demand, the temptation was too great to multiply the wrestler's appearances: up to seven cities could welcome him in the same evening, a masked windfall, in short, and a fabulous banner for his federation: the Fédération de Catch Professionnel (there were 4 different federations at the time, but the fights were common). So, for the real White Angel, enough was enough. His name? Francisco Pino Farina. He left the character to others (Charles Eltes or Gilbert Péchard, for example). But from now on, Francisco will wrestle openly, with far fewer fans, but with just as much pleasure and many more successes. Francisco Pino Farina passed away in the early '80s, but he'll always be remembered as the first White Angel, the man who transfigured the crowds, dressed all in white, a wrestler in a mask, a mask of legend. / Val d'Osne Val d' Osne Canvas Poster/ Vintage Poster on Linnen T.B.E. A + 60 x 40 Paris circa 1960