Sports Illustrated Latino is no more but Maximo is forever!

As all trends go, they do come to an end and this seems to be the case with the announcement that Sports Illustrated will stop printing issues of their Sports Illustrated Latino off-shoot after three years of publication.

The glossy Spanish-language quarterly, skimpy on content but big on ads from the auto industry and from the US military, was never sold on newspaper stands but was mailed to subscribers for free.

On Thursday, online publishing industry information site Portada indicated that this reliance on auto industry ads was ultimately what led to the magazine's demise at a time when the US auto industry seems to be on the verge of collapse. Subscribers will receive the last issue in mailboxes in the next few weeks.

And, trendwise, it's not the only Latino off-shoot publication that seems destined to end according to Latino Business Review.

So what does three years of SI Latino leave us? Well, it does leave our lives a little bit richer in that we would otherwise not have known about the 'exotic' Mexican lucha libre super star Maximo! And what would our lives be without him?

Although I also have some disconcerting news for all you Maximo fans out there (and if you are easily impressionable I suggest you stop reading this right this second).

How can I say this in a gentle way. Let me see. Hm. Sorry. There is no way but to tell it like it is: Maximo is **gulp!** not gay! He is just interpreted as gay. His real name is Jose Christian Alvarado Ruiz and he is married to female lucha libre fighter India Sioux.

Here is Maximo in 2007 in a Galavision show explaining why he chose to be an exotico:


An excerpt (beginning at 00:29):

Interviewer: We are very, very pleased to have amongst us a man who brings out many people - an exotic fighter. It's been a while since there was an exotic fighter who brought out so many people to the arenas as Maximo does.
Maximo: Well, it's a very beautiful thing, specially as you just said - that concept was lost - so I am happy about the public's acceptance.
Interviewer: Let's explain a little bit that concept to people because many will think, or some will think, well "Maximo is gay or isn't gay" which in the end is not what matters... they're gay... well, we know that in the case of Maximo "No," but that is what he simulates up on the stage. How do you explain this concept to the people.
Maximo: How to explain it! Well, part of what is an exotic, is a refined person who is well-behaved and detail-conscious, who always demonstrates his affection towards his mates and the public.

So as we bid farewell to SI Latino and to Maximo's gayness, let's just look at Maximo's biggest moments.


Previously:

• Lucha Libre! A Maximo sighting (Aug. 27, 2008)
• Machochip delivers! Maximo! Al Ataque!! (Oct. 27, 2007)
• Sports Illustrated Latino is gay-inclusive (July 11, 2007)